MassBrew

Huntsville Site Game Summary: A 6-foot-6 lefty and three big hits were all Huntsville needed Saturday night. Ryan Costello authored six shutout innings and the Stars blanked Greenville, 3-0, at Joe Davis Stadium for their third straight win and fifth in six games. Huntsville (20-16) jumped over Birmingham into second place in the Southern League West, 1 ½ games behind streaking West Tenn, winner of 10 straight games. Costello dominated the G-Braves (10-26), permitting just three singles and one walk while fanning five in a personal season-high six frames for his second win. Costello (2-0) allowed just two runners as far as second base and retired 11 of 12 hitters during one stretch from the second through fifth. Costello rebounded from a tough start on the Stars? recent road trip, and in two outings at Joe Davis Stadium this year, Costello is 2-0 with 10 strikeouts in 11 scoreless innings. Huntsville had five hits in the game, four for extra bases, and three produced runs. Kade Johnson tripled home the Stars? first run in the second, and Tony Gwynn, Jr. ripped a fifth-inning double that plated Rickie Weeks for a 2-0 lead. Brad Nelson capped the scoring in the sixth, homering for the second straight game. Nelson launched an opposite-field solo shot, his eighth home run this season. Lefty Matt Merricks (1-3) suffered a tough loss, permitting two runs on two hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings. Roberto Giron locked down his eighth save in nine chances, walking one and fanning one in a scoreless ninth. Stars righty Tim Bausher (1-3, 2.81) meets Braves lefty Dan Meyer (2-1, 1.88) in Sunday?s game three of the series. Game time is 2:05 p.m.

Y'know, player friends and/or family members come and go as far as actively posting on the forum here. We appreciate all who do, and we politely understand why some become lurkers rather than posters after a while. So kudos tonight to two RHP's who have had their staunch supporters on board with us here this year, Simon Beresford and Forrest Martin, both with strong outings tonight.

High Desert management has informed us that they will be archiving their pre-game interviews. Sweet! The first was from the pre-game on Saturday (and what a game, details soon) and is with RHP Khalid Ballouli. The darn-near perfect Huntsville site would jump to an A++ if they could manage to do the same. Indianapolis' site introduced a Multimedia page and promised audio and video for the regular season, but nothing's come of it yet. So High Desert has set the bar in this regard, as we'll get to hear players and coaches practice their cliche's http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif . Check out their "Listen Live" page on a regular basis, we'll link as well... www.hdmavs.com/listen_live.htm

Final: High Desert 5, Lake Elsinore (Padres) 4 What a sweet victory for the win-starved club! Roxy Bernstein with an outstanding and enthusiastic call of a very entertaining tight contest. Froilan Villanueva, hardly fleet of foot, reached on an error with two outs in the eighth and then scored the winning run from first base on a passed ball. You read that right, you had to hear it to believe it. Passed ball, throw to second hits Villanueva and takes a crazy ricochet that allows Froilan to hustle home. Forrest Martin (seven strong innings) and David Bradley (the win with a perfect two innings) were your Maverick pitchers for the night. Jeff Eure drove in a couple of runs, Callix Crabbe with a huge relay throw to nail the leadoff Storm batter in the seventh trying for a triple.

Huntsville Box Score: Ryan Costello is a 6'6" southpaw -- he'll be 25 in July; is this the same guy who had some of the ugliest farmhand pitching lines of the season in April starts for High Desert? GAME DATE: 5/15/04 GRV at HVL GREENVILLE 0 AT HUNTSVILLE 3 YTD YTD GREENVILLE AB R H BI AVG HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG A.Stern CF 3 0 1 0 .309 R.Weeks 2B 2 1 0 0 .288 N.Calzado 1B 4 0 0 0 .274 A.Gwynn CF 3 0 1 1 .231 B.Butler 2B 4 0 0 0 .323 P.Fielder 1B 3 0 0 0 .293 B.McCarthy RF 4 0 1 0 .333 B.Nelson LF 4 1 1 1 .270 A.Marte 3B 3 0 0 0 .241 J.Belcher RF 3 1 0 0 .313 K.Johnson LF 4 0 0 0 .262 R.Giron PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Pena SS 3 0 1 0 .295 C.Barnwell 3B 3 0 1 0 .216 J.Boscan CAT 2 0 0 0 .190 K.Johnson CAT 3 0 1 1 .244 M.Merricks PIT 2 0 1 0 .200 E.Cruz SS 3 0 1 0 .163 B.Evert PIT 0 0 0 0 .333 R.Costello PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 I.Pineda PIT 0 0 0 0 .333 F.Rijo PIT 1 0 0 0 .333 J.Velazquez PH 1 0 0 0 .211 J.Raburn RF 0 0 0 0 .246 K.Barry PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 30 0 4 0 TOTALS 27 3 5 3 GREENVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 4 1 HUNTSVILLE 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 X- 3 5 0 E--M.Merricks. DP--GREENVILLE 1, HUNTSVILLE 1. LOB--GREENVILLE 6, HUNTSVILLE 5. 2B--T.Pena (6), A.Gwynn (5), C.Barnwell (4). 3B-- K.Johnson (1). HR--B.Nelson (8). CS--C.Barnwell. HBP--R.Weeks. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA GREENVILLE M.Merricks (L,1-3) 4.2 2 2 1 4 1 0 3.86 B.Evert 1.1 2 1 1 0 1 1 4.38 I.Pineda 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.03 K.Barry 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.06 HUNTSVILLE R.Costello (W,2-0) 6.0 3 0 0 1 5 0 2.81 F.Rijo 2.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.57 R.Giron (S,8) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.42 HB--M.Merricks. WP--M.Merricks, R.Costello. SO--N.Calzado 2, B.Butler, A.Marte, K.Johnson, J.Boscan, A.Gwynn 2, J.Belcher. BB--A.Stern, A.Marte, J.Boscan, R.Weeks, A.Gwynn, P.Fielder, J.Belcher. T--2:38. A--4122Huntsville Game Log: Rickie Weeks gets plunked again; Prince Fielder hadn't had many GIDP's in the early going, but he's had maybe four or five this week, maybe something for Stars' stats guru David Weiser to peek at... www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=11971

Help the Mavericks break their seven-game losing streak -- listen in, the Mavericks feed (linked above) is working fine tonight. In progress: Lake Elsinore (Padres) 4, High Desert 4, after five innings

Beloit Game Summary (Burlington Site): The Burlington Bees (13?23) scored a run in the bottom of the first inning and never trailed until the Beloit Snappers (18?18) scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to win 7?6 at Community Field tonight. Right?hander Dusty Dossett (2?1) blew his first save opportunity and gave up his first runs in 12 appearances this year to get the loss. Bryan Graham got the Bees on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning. In the second, the Bees took advantage of a throwing error by shortstop Gilberto Acosta that scored Adam Donachie and extended the inning so Kenard Springer could deliver an RBI single to make it 3?0. Mitch Maier made it 4?0 in the third with a solo home run off the scoreboard in right field. In the top of the fourth, the Snappers got on the board against Bees starter Dusty Hughes. Hughes walked Lou Palmisano to start the inning and Vinny Rottino followed with a two?run homer to left to make it 4?2. The Bees came back in the bottom of the fourth with another run on Mike Gaffney's first professional home run. The Bees made it 6?2 in the sixth as Maier reached on an error by Adam Heether at third and scored on a two?out single by Walter Sevilla. The Snappers got two back in the seventh. Tim Marks led off with a single and moved to third on a double by Manuel Ramirez. Acosta and Guilder Rodriguez picked up RBI with consecutive groundouts to make it 6?4. Hughes matched his season?high with eight innings pitched and gave way to Dossett for the ninth. With one out, Marks and Ramirez singled to put the tying runs on base. After Acosta struck out, Rodriguez fought a two?strike pitch into right?center for a single and as Jeff Barry overran the ball in the outfield, pinch?runner Robby Deevers raced all the way around from first to score the tying run. Terry Trofholz dropped down a bunt on the next pitch for a two?out single to score Rodriguez and give the Snappers the 7?6 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Simon Beresford (1?0) set the Bees down in order in his fourth inning of work for the win. Starter Carlos Villanueva allowed all six runs (three earned) on eight hits in five innings. The Bees and Snappers continue this series tomorrow afternoon at 2:00. RH Ambiorix Burgos (0?3, 6.00) will pitch for the Bees against RH Ken Durost (1?3, 5.16) for Beloit.

From Indy management: Rochester jumped on Indians starter Chris Capuano for eight runs in the first inning Saturday night, sending 12 batters to the plate. Seven of the runs scored with two out. Capuano joined the Indians from the Milwaukee Brewers for a rehab assignment. He has been on the Major League disabled list with a strained left quadricep. The Red Wings coasted to an 11-3 victory. Rochester produced 15 hits off four Indianapolis pitchers. Indianapolis falls to 19-14, Rochester improves to 19-16. The win gives the Red Wings a 2-1 series lead. Willie Eyre earned the win (1-0), pitching seven innings. He allowed two runs on four hits, walked none and struck out six. QUOTES: Brian Simmons, Rochester center fielder on Indians hurler Chris Capuano: ?I don?t know why we hit him so well,? said Simmons. ?We had some really good at-bats in the first inning and he got behind a couple of guys. We delivered some timely hits off him this evening. Everything seemed to fall in place.? Simmons regarding the opportunity to play against former White Sox teammates Jeff Liefer and Mark Johnson: ?Baseball?s like a small family,? said Simmons. ?It was good to see those guys as well as Todd Erdos (Tribe pitcher) who was with us at the start of the year. It?s great to get a win tonight.? NOTES: Rochester?s run total and hit total Saturday night were season highs for Indianapolis opponents. The eight runs in the first inning was also the most runs an opponent has scored in an inning against the Tribe. The Wings had scored just nine runs in their last five outings. The loss assures that the Tribe will have their first non-winning road trip of the year. They are now 3-4 on this eight-game trip. Steve Scarborough?s eight game hit streak came to a halt Saturday. Luis Figueroa has now hit safely in seven straight games.

Final: Huntsville 3, Greenville (Braves) 0 Brad Nelson with his 8th HR, an opposite field job; Stars have won five of six -- details soon...

For those who have lost track, your Huntsvile pitchers on the disabled list are RHP's Greg Bruso, Ben Diggins, Ryan Miller, Mike Jones, and Jason Shelley, and LHP Matt Ford. In addition, RHP's Reggie Rivard and John Novinsky just returned to action after nursing injuries that did not require DL time.

We'll see if the Jose Rijo listing is a Sports Network error or not; Stars' announcer Robert Portnoy just mentioned the Pete Zamora signing, nothing on Rijo, but I just tuned in. LHP Matt Ford has been placed on the Huntsville DL retroactive to May 12th. As posted earlier, from David Weiser: Matt Ford shares a similar problem with Mike Jones....... Both say they're healthy enough to pitch, but neither are being given clearance by the organization to return, naturally causing some frustration for both........ In Ford's case, he has some muscle soreness under his scar where he had bone chips removed in the off season. When asked when Ford would return, manager Frank Kremblas just shrugged his shoulders.

In progress: Huntsville 3, Greenville (Braves) 0, after six innings In progress: Lake Elsinore (Padres) 2, High Desert 2, in the second in Adelanto

Two new names on the Huntsville roster: LHP Pete Zamora 28 years old, AAA veteran www.sports-wired.com/play...?Name=HFDG and 39-year-old RHP Jose Rijo (yes, that Jose Rijo) Not to be confused with recently-signed Stars' RHP Fernando Rijo www.sports-wired.com/play...?Name=BEDG Although Zamora appeared for the Yankees' AA club in Trenton in one appearance earlier this year, it appears he was signed as a free agent, as would have been Rijo. No word on the associated moves to make room for the newcomers.

Why had Brady Clark replaced Ben Grieve in a game the Crew was trailing? Aargghhh...

Final: Rochester (Twins) 11, Indianapolis 3 Red Wings scored eight in the first; I'd be interested in what Chris Capuano's travel arrangements were last night (Milwaukee to Rochester -- not exactly a popular commuter route) -- regardless, that's hardly an excuse for that kind of performance Indianapolis Box Score: Add a HBP and two wild pitches to Capuano's line; Corey Hart with a nice night from the cleanup spot, remember, Corey just turned 22 in March... GAME DATE: 5/15/04 IND at ROC INDIANAPOLIS 3 AT ROCHESTER 11 YTD YTD INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG ROCHESTER AB R H BI AVG R.Knox CF 4 0 2 1 .293 L.Rodriguez 2B 5 2 2 1 .259 M.Erickson 2B 4 0 0 0 .216 A.Ojeda SS 5 1 3 2 .213 J.Nunnally LF 4 0 0 0 .233 J.Morneau 1B 4 2 2 0 .361 C.Hart RF 4 1 2 0 .288 M.Restovich RF 3 1 1 1 .271 J.Liefer 1B 4 1 1 0 .283 T.Tiffee 3B 4 1 0 0 .171 C.Magruder DH 4 0 1 1 .277 J.Rabe LF 5 0 2 2 .258 L.Figueroa 3B 4 0 1 0 .275 R.Owens DH 3 1 1 1 .174 M.Johnson CAT 2 1 0 1 .239 C.Heintz CAT 5 1 1 2 .311 S.Scarbrough SS 2 0 0 0 .275 B.Simmons CF 4 2 3 2 .227 C.Capuano PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.Eyre PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Adams PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Mills PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Michalak PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Schoening PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Erdos PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 32 3 7 3 TOTALS 38 11 15 11 INDIANAPOLIS 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0- 3 7 1 ROCHESTER 8 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 X-11 15 1 E--C.Hart, L.Rodriguez. DP--INDIANAPOLIS 0, ROCHESTER 1. LOB--INDIANAPOLIS 5, ROCHESTER 9. 2B--C.Hart (8), J.Morneau (12), M.Restovich (10), J.Rabe (8), B.Simmons (7). CS--R.Knox. HBP--J.Morneau. SF--M.Johnson, M.Restovich. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INDIANAPOLIS C.Capuano (L,0-1) 3.0 6 8 7 4 2 0 21.00 M.Adams 2.0 3 1 1 0 4 0 2.61 C.Michalak 2.0 5 2 2 0 0 0 3.75 T.Erdos 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 7.56 ROCHESTER W.Eyre (W,1-0) 7.0 4 2 2 0 6 0 3.66 R.Mills 1.0 1 1 1 2 1 0 3.32 B.Schoening 1.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 3.67 HB--C.Capuano. WP--C.Capuano 2, W.Eyre, R.Mills. SO--M.Erickson, J.Nunnally 3, C.Hart 2, J.Liefer, L.Figueroa 2, J.Morneau, T.Tiffee, J.Rabe, R.Owens, C.Heintz 3. BB--M.Johnson, S.Scarbrough, M.Restovich, T.Tiffee, R.Owens 2. T--2:40. A--5207Indianapolis Game Log: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=13053

If I ever get around to it, I'll bring everyone up-to-date on the "hidden fun" within some of the affiliate websites. The Huntsville guestbook is always good for a peek, to see which fans, family and friends are saying hello. The Stars wiped out all of last year's log, unfortunately, but this year's log already includes four pages of posts. Here, Tim Bausher has a fan in Mobile... www.huntsvillestars.com/s...stbook.asp

His next appearance won't be against Huntsville, but what Tennessee Smokies (Cardinals' system) RHP Brad Thompson is doing deserves mention among minor league fans. This from Baseball America: Double-A Tennessee righthander Brad Thompson shook off an ankle injury, got one last out and tied the Southern League record for consecutive scoreless innings Friday night en route to the Smokies' 10-0 victory against Carolina. "I had to pitch a lot and rely on my defense like I always do," Thompson told the Maryville (Tenn.) Daily Times after the game. "I definitely didn't have my best stuff out there." With 5,066 fans on hand to follow his pursuit of a small piece of history, Thompson went six scoreless frames to push him to 6-0, and he hasn't allowed a run in 43 1/3 innings in 2004. He gave up three hits, walked two (his first walks since April 23) and struck out two, and has allowed just 22 hits and five walks on the season while fanning 32. Thompson also finished the 2003 season with 8 1/3 shutout innings between Class A Palm Beach and low Class A Peoria, so he hasn't given up a run in his last 52 innings dating back to last season. Because it stretches over two seasons, Thompson's streak remains 13 innings shy of what is currently believed to be the all-time single-season minor league record, set in 1907 by Irvin Wilhelm of Birmingham. The 16th-round pick out of Utah's Dixie Junior College had an 8-0 lead through 5 2/3 innings when Carolina's Matt Demarco hit a comebacker that drilled Thompson's ankle. Demarco reached on an infield hit, and after three warmup pitches and a mound visit by the trainer and manager Mark DeJohn, Thompson continued. Speedy veteran Billy Hall grounded to first, and Thompson hobbled to first to cover for the 3-1 putout, tying the record previously set in 1993 by Carolina's Bobby Hunter. Thompson, a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder who relies on a low-90s sinking fastball and an above-average slider, needed 92 pitches in the effort and was backed by shortstop John Nelson, who homered twice and had four of the Smokies' 14 hits.

Beloit 7, Burlington (Royals) 6 Down three runs with two outs and two on in the ninth, Guilder Rodriguez and Terry Trofholz come through with base hits for the lead; Simon Beresford gets the win with his best outing of the year... Beloit Box Score: OK, so the Bees throw two pitchers, both named Dusty? GAME DATE: 5/15/04 BLT at BUR BELOIT 7 AT BURLINGTON 6 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG BURLINGTON AB R H BI AVG G.Rodriguez 2B 4 1 3 2 .304 K.Springer CF 5 0 1 1 .267 T.Trofholz RF 4 0 1 1 .280 A.Sanchez SS 5 1 1 0 .262 L.Palmisano CAT 4 1 1 0 .311 M.Maier DH 4 2 3 1 .296 V.Rottino LF 4 1 1 2 .336 B.Graham LF 4 0 1 1 .223 A.Heether 3B 4 0 0 0 .234 W.Sevilla 2B 4 0 1 1 .181 S.Moss CF 4 0 0 0 .081 A.Donachie CAT 4 1 2 0 .172 T.Marks DH 3 2 2 0 .207 K.Kaaihue 1B 3 0 0 0 .218 M.Ramirez 1B 4 1 2 0 .229 M.Gaffney 3B 4 1 1 1 .152 R.Deevers PR 0 1 0 0 .231 J.Barry RF 4 1 1 0 .219 C.Corporan 1B 0 0 0 0 .226 D.Hughes PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Acosta SS 4 0 1 1 .200 D.Dossett PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Villanueva PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Beresford PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 35 7 11 6 TOTALS 37 6 11 5 BELOIT 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 3- 7 11 2 BURLINGTON 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0- 6 11 1 E--A.Heether, G.Acosta, J.Barry. DP--BELOIT 0, BURLINGTON 2. LOB-- BELOIT 5, BURLINGTON 5. 2B--M.Ramirez (5), A.Donachie (4). HR-- V.Rottino (5), M.Maier (3), M.Gaffney (1). SB--M.Maier 2 (11), A.Donachie (1). CS--J.Barry. HBP--T.Marks. SH--T.Trofholz, K.Kaaihue. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT C.Villanueva 5.0 8 6 3 0 2 2 4.84 S.Beresford (W,1-0) 4.0 3 0 0 0 2 0 4.63 BURLINGTON D.Hughes 8.0 7 4 4 2 4 1 1.60 D.Dossett (L,2-1) 1.0 4 3 2 0 2 0 0.98 HB--D.Hughes. WP--C.Villanueva. SO--L.Palmisano 2, A.Heether, S.Moss, M.Ramirez, G.Acosta, K.Springer, W.Sevilla 2, K.Kaaihue. BB--G.Rodriguez, L.Palmisano. T--2:09. A--766Beloit Game Log: Guilder Rodriguez has been one of the organization's most pleasant surprises, with an OBP of near .400; only three of 35 base hits have gone for extra bases, though (all doubles)... www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=12550

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update: HABIT FORMINGTendencies were reversed, as can happen in this crazy game........ The Stars thought they might have a pre-game fireworks display tonight, considering they were facing an 0-5 pitcher with a 6.62 ERA........ Possibly, they will sometime in this series. G'Braves starters were 3-9 with a 5.63 ERA in April and came in with a 4.63 ERA this month........ But there was one tendency that held true. Macay McBride can strikeout out some people........ After fanning 10 in his last start, May 18 vs. Carolina, he registered nine before he left it to a bullpen that's logged a 3.09 ERA this month, but it was the bullpen the Stars easily reached, instead of McBride, who would have seemed the easier candidate. For the 2nd night in a row, after never having done this all season, the Stars came back in the 9th inning to win........ Down 4-2, Rickie Weeks led off the 8th with a double that hopped once then hit the left field wall. Weeks made the circuit on a couple of ground outs, scoring on Fielder's rap to the right side....... The inning ended rather quietly, but the Stars were down by just one, and poised to do again what they did in Mobile. Chris Barnwell drew a walk on a 3-1 pitch from Dave Elder to lead off the 9th...... Elder joined the G'Braves, April 30, from extended spring training where he had been rehabbing from shoulder surgery. He's the guy who gave up Rafael Palmeiro's 500th home run while with Cleveland last year....... It looked like Elder would register a save after getting Joel Alvarado on a foul pop, and weak-hitting Enrique Cruz on a strikeout....... But coming on to pinch-hit for Paul Stewart comes Jason Belcher, the hottest hitter right now on the team...... Belch, who was hitting .211 after May 1, came in 5-for-10 in his last three games and 8-for 15 in his last four......... How do you stop this madman? You don't........ Belcher, sitting on his pitch, took the count to 3-and-1, then drove the ball into the opposite field, the left field corner....... The spirity Barnwell crossed the plate and tied the game and the home crowd who came out for fireworks and Birdzerk, despite threats all week from the weatherman that it would pour (it did not, of course), were pumped up and in the mood to see the Stars continue the rally. Rickie Weeks had one of his best nights as a Huntsville Star tonight....... He walked and scored in the 1st, singled to center in the 5th, doubled as I mentioned in the 8th, and scored....... On an 0-1 pitch from Elder, Weeks sent a ball back up the middle over the 2nd base bag to center, driving in Belcher with the winning run........ Weeks raised his average to .294 and has now hit safely in seven of his last eight games for a .367 average. Brad Nelson's two-out home run put the Stars up 2-0 in the 1st inning...... Rather than muscle it over, Nelson's homer was a wrist flick, a testament to his raw power, that cleared all three levels of advertising in right field....... The G'Braves have now been outscored, 47-17 in the 1st inning this season....... The Stars, in winning four of their last five games, have outscored their opponents, 10-3, in those five games. Matt Ford shares a similar problem with Mike Jones....... Both say they're healthy enough to pitch, but neither are being given clearance by the organization to return, naturally causing some frustration for both........ In Ford's case, he has some muscle soreness under his scar where he had bone chips removed in the off season. When asked when Ford would return, manager Frank Kremblas just shrugged his shoulders....... Jonesy's case is pretty well known. He's still pain-free and throwing off the mound, but optimistically, he's two weeks away from coming back from a history of elbow problems......... Talk about a grind. The Stars have only two days off the whole month of May and the bullpen, halfway through the month, has thrown 52 1/3 innings. That's a lot of innings, folks......... Saturday, Ryan Costello (1-0, 4.50) will be called on to pitch against Matt Merricks (1-2, 4.36). Stars fans are two weeks away from seeing a new scoreboard, according to the target G.M. Bryan Dingo has announced......... A full-scale production studio, manned by seven people (opposed to the two the old scoreboard required), is being prepared and assembled for the May 28 debut, when Mobile is in........ For two or three days, Stars fans will put up with an old-style manual scoreboard in left. The existing scoreboard is being taken down on May 24....... In addition, the city of Huntsville is committing over $200,000 to replace the upper level seats, many of which are cracked and broken, all of which have faded. The head of maintenance facilities for the city, Jeff Easter, says work should begin within several weeks and will take 84 days, according to the contract........ That's 1,952 seats, one section at a time....... The city, no matter who is elected mayor in November, is committed to keeping the Stars in Huntsville. Even though Huntsville was ranked 8th in the nation as the best city for a young business/tech person to live in by Fortune magazine, the city has had a hard time keeping that demographic in town, in fact that population has been declining. The most often heard complaint: There's nothing to do in this town....... Huntsville city leaders are cognizant of that and recently brought in consultants who have been making their suggestions and the city has been proactive in addressing the problem lately, working on the downtown area specifically. It's too long and involved to go into, but the point is, the city can't afford to lose an entertainment vehicle for young professionals, many who come from other states via their NASA or Arsenal jobs....... I know I've gone on too long over something not even involved with baseball, but I thought it was worth mentioning. The Huntsville Stars have set the dates for three annual events season ticket holders can take advantage of this season....... On May 22, all season ticket holders, Stargazer members, advertisers, and sponsors are invited to the stadium to take part in batting practice. Actually get down on the field and take your best shot. That starts at 10 am....... May 17th will be the annual season ticket holder picnic from 6-7 pm. And August 2nd will be the annual Stargazer pizza party from 6-7 pm........ The Booster Club is planning a bus trip to Birmingham for the Rickwood Classic at Rickwood Field, one of baseball's oldest fields, built in 1910 and modeled after Forbes Field. Already, 30 have signed up for it with room for a few more.

Daily Press High Desert Game Story: www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...025,36103,

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WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 19 13 .594[/b] COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 16 16 .500 3.0 TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 16 18 .471 4.0 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 15 18 .455 4.5 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 20 14 .588 BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 19 15 .559 1.0 [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 19 16 .543 1.5[/b] MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 17 18 .486 3.5 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 12 23 .343 8.5 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 23 13 .639 LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 20 14 .588 2.0 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 19 15 .559 3.0 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 17 17 .500 5.0 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 13 23 .361 10.0[/b] WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 20 15 .571 CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 20 15 .571 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 20 15 .571 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 19 16 .543 1.0 QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 17 17 .500 2.5 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 17 18 .486 3.0[/b] WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 15 20 .429 5.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 13 22 .371 7.0

Indianapolis Star: Mark Johnson drove in four runs to help the Indianapolis Indians post an 8-5 victory over the Rochester Red Wings in the International League on Friday night. The Indians scored on Johnson's groundouts in the second and sixth innings. He then singled to drive in one of three runs in the seventh and doubled home the final run in the ninth. Indianapolis (19-13) broke a 4-4 tie with three runs in the seventh, courtesy of Luis Figueroa, Steve Scarborough and Johnson, who singled against losing pitcher Joe Beimel (0-2). "I have been working very hard every day taking batting practice in the cages," Figueroa said in a news release provided by the team. "I feel like I have been seeing the pitches well. Thank God for my hits tonight." Figueroa was 4-for-5. Johnson went 3-for-5. Rochester (18-16) scored two runs in the first inning on a single by Justin Morneau and a double by Michael Restovich. The Red Wings regained a two-run lead at 3-1 when Pedro Liriano balked home Brian Simmons in the bottom of the second. A single by Simmons gave Rochester a 4-1 advantage in the fourth. After Johnson's run-scoring groundout in the sixth, a two-run single by Ryan Knox tied the score. Winning pitcher Brian Bowles (1-0) retired the two batters he faced in the sixth. Jason Childers pitched the final two innings for his 10th save, tying him with Richmond's Matt Whiteside for the league lead. Etc. Corey Hart's double was his first extra-base hit since May 6. . . . Scarborough extended his hitting streak to eight games. . . . Hitting coach Bobby Randall was not available for Friday night's game. He was attending his daughter's high school graduation in Lawrence, Kan. . . . RHP Adrian Hernandez was optioned to Indianapolis and will join the team Monday when the Tribe returns to Victory Field to start an eight-game homestand against Columbus and Durham.

Huntsville Times Game Story: Belcher will do in a pinch Outfielder delivers key double, then scores winning run in 5-4 victory By PAUL GATTIS Times Sports Staff pgattis@htimes.com For almost 2 1/2 hours, Jason Belcher waited. And then he celebrated. Belcher was the pinch-hitting star for the Huntsville Stars on Friday night, doubling in the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and then scoring the winning run himself when Rickie Weeks followed with a single. That's how the Stars rallied to edge the Greenville Braves 5-4 before an announced crowd of 3,019 at Joe Davis Stadium. "That's pretty much it," Belcher said. "I thought I was going to get my opportunity in the sixth or seventh inning. But fortunately, at the end of the game, I got my chance." Belcher was ready to pinch hit in the seventh inning, but Stars manager Frank Kremblas instead let relief pitcher Paul Stewart (3-0) bat for himself with two outs. But by game's end, Kremblas looked like a genius to still have Belcher available in the ninth when Stewart's spot in the order came up again. "It was only the seventh inning," Kremblas said. "We still had the eighth and ninth." And that's when the Stars rallied from a 4-2 deficit. In the eighth, the Stars scored "the ugliest run ever," Kremblas said. Weeks doubled, Tony Gwynn Jr. moved him to third with a groundout to second and Prince Fielder knocked him in with a weak grounder to first. Then in the ninth, Chris Barnwell worked a walk off losing pitcher Dave Elder (0-1) and scored on Belcher's two-out double to left. Then Weeks followed with a single to center that easily scored Belcher and ignited a mob of high-fives along the first base line. "It's a great feeling," said Weeks, who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored along with his game-winning RBI. "It felt great to win in our last at-bat. This will propel us to another level." Indeed, for five innings, the Stars seemingly couldn't play much better. Starting pitcher Chris Saenz had allowed only one hit and owned a 2-0 lead after Brad Nelson's first-inning home run. But in the bottom of the fifth, Saenz singled and appeared to score on a single by Gwynn Jr. Before Saenz crossed the plate, however, Weeks was thrown out at third to end the inning. Then Saenz was torched for four runs on five hits in the top of the sixth. "Saenz was good," Kremblas said. "But the play when he did not score, he was tired and winded (from running the bases). I don't think he gave himself enough time to rest (between innings)." Of course, Saenz's teammates didn't help much either defensively. "We looked like a bunch of Little Leaguers," Kremblas said of the series of wild throws in the inning. That was followed by a pair of uninspired innings at the plate. In the end, though, the Stars pulled out the win. "This shows the guys are getting more mature," Kremblas said. "They're able to get out of it." Congratulations to our friend Mark McCarter of the Times! www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...125131.xml

Huntsville Site Game Summary: In the immortal words of Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, it was "de ja vu all over again." For a second straight night, the Stars trailed by two entering the eighth. Again, they scored one in the eighth to foreshadow ninth-inning heroics. Ultimately, pinch-hitter Jason Belcher tied the game with his two-out double, and Rickie Weeks delivered Belcher with a deciding single in Huntsville's walk-off 5-4 win over Greenville (10-25) on Friday night at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars (19-16) remained 1 1/2 games out of first in the Southern League West. Brad Nelson's two-run, first-inning homer gave Huntsville a 2-0 lead that lasted until the sixth. With five consecutive hits off Stars starter Chris Saenz, Greenville seized the lead with a four-run outburst. Napoleon Calzado singled home two and Brent Butler and Bill McCarthy drove in one run apiece. In the Stars' eighth, Weeks led off with a double, took third on a groundout and scored on Prince Fielder's ground ball to first. Down one in the ninth, Huntsville's Chris Barnwell drew a leadoff walk. Two outs later, Barnwell broke for second on a 3-1 pitch to Belcher, who laced a double down the leftfield line, scoring Barnwell from first with the tying run. Weeks promptly singled up the middle to plate Belcher for the 5-4 victory. Reliever Paul Stewart (3-0) picked up the win, throwing three scoreless innings, fanning one and allowing two hits. Dave Elder (0-1) suffered the loss and the G-Braves' first blown save this season, permitting two runs on two hits and one walk while fanning one in two-thirds of an inning. Game two of the series is Saturday night at Joe Davis Stadium, with Stars lefty Ryan Costello (1-0, 4.50) meeting Braves lefty Matt Merricks (1-2, 4.63). Game time is 7:05 p.m.