Link Report for Tue. 6/3 -- Huntsville's Bats Go Bonkers Again

[Mass Haas]

Final: St. Lucie (Mets) 5, Brevard County 4

 

Brevard County Box Score

Manatees remain allergic to walks as of late, so they fall despite out-hitting the Mets, 10-8 -- actually, for the season, the 'Tees are middle of the league in walks, but numerically closer to the top than the bottom; since coming to Brevard County, Josh Butler is 1-5 in eight starts with a 5.67 ERA, walking 18 and striking out 26 in 39.2 IP; every Manatee but # 9 man Brent Brewer had at least one base hit; Lorenzo Cain homered for a second day in a row...

 

Brevard County Game Log

Andy Bouchie an ugly strikeout in the first inning; Butler did a fantastic job pitching around two first-inning errors -- we give credit when we can; Brevard had committed three errors and a passed ball after just three innings...

[Mass Haas]

Tim Evearitt of the Chattanoogan with the latest Mat Gamel photo:

 

http://images.chattanoogan.com/photo_images/photo_11598_large.jpg

[Mass Haas]

http://www.wvgazette.com/images/thumbs275/Power1_G0806032vf32x.jpg

 

West Virginia Power outfielders Eric Fryer (left) and Lee Haydel almost collide before Haydel catches a fly ball Tuesday against the Lexington Legends.

Charleston Gazette Photo by Chip Ellis

[igor67]

You know I almost feel bad for Errecart and Gillespie. Both players are completely out hitting what most of the current Brewers did in AA, and they are a complete footnote on that team. The offensive level in the league has to be up a little bit more than normal, because otherwise this team should have a just ridiculous record instead of a really good one.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Power fizzles before big crowd

Baserunning snafus contribute to 6-3 loss to Legends

By Mitch Vingle

Charleston Gazette Sports Editor

 

The West Virginia Power played a baseball game on Tuesday.

 

Just not very well.

 

Two Power players - Eric Farris and Lee Haydel - were caught stealing, albeit by the Houston Astros' 2006 first-round draft pick, catcher Max Sapp. West Virginia third baseman Zelous Wheeler was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.

 

Even manager Jeff Isom got into the mix. He called for a double steal with one out and two strikes on cleanup hitter Steffan Wilson in the third inning. Wilson struck out and Farris was cut down at third to end the threat.

 

The result was an ill-timed 6-3 loss to the Lexington Legends in a battle of the worst teams in the South Atlantic North division. The timing was unfortunate for the hosts because Appalachian Power Park in Charleston was packed with a Grand Slam School Day morning crowd announced at 7,976.

 

"We've won five out of our last six, but this was a tough game," said Power catcher Jonathan Lucroy, a designated hitter on Tuesday. "We had a lot of people here, a lot of kids. I hate to lose.''

 

Early indications were the game would be hotly contested. Both teams had a pair of hits in the first inning and Lexington took a 2-1 lead.

 

But while the Legends, now 19-38, received a three-run homer from center fielder Collin DeLome in the third inning - to go along with an RBI triple in the first - and a solo shot from third baseman Matt Cusick in the seventh, West Virginia could put forth just one brief flurry.

 

Unfortunately for the hosts, most of the crowd had gone home under the threat of rain when the Power scored twice in the seventh. West Virginia right fielder Eric Fryer knocked in a run with a triple off the center field wall and Uly Snijders pushed Fryer across with an ensuing single.

 

In between came the Power snafus.

 

"It's frustrating because we gave up some runs early on,'' said Isom. "We've been playing some pretty good baseball lately. And the common theme has been getting out to a lead early. We didn't do that [Tuesday]. We tried to battle back, but we just couldn't get anything going with our bats offensively. Five out of six, though, is pretty good.''

 

Isom said he was trying to jolt the team with his steal call in the third inning.

 

"We didn't have a whole lot of offense, so we tried to get some things going, to jump-start us,'' said the manager. "But it failed. You're going to have those days.''

 

West Virginia's pitching staff, however, had a day that's typical of its season. After entering the game with a 5.14 earned run average, next-to-last in the Sally League, the staff allowed six earned runs and five walks. R.J. Seidel took the loss, falling to 2-4.

 

Brett Robinson, now 4-1, earned the win for Lexington with four innings of one-hit ball.

 

The Power, now 24-33, will begin a three-game away series today against the Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium. Righty Amaury Rivas (4-1), will get the start for West Virginia. The Intimidators will counter with righty Anthony Carter (5-2).

[Mass Haas]

Six different Sounds featured in the latest photo gallery from the Tennessean

[Mass Haas]

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Sounds fall to Iowa in 10 innings

By MIKE ORGAN

Tennessean Staff Writer

Felix Pie's short grounder in the 10th inning Tuesday night allowed Eric Patterson to score from third, giving Iowa a 3-2 win over the Sounds.

 

Pie's hit was a chop off the back of the pitching mound. Sounds pitcher Zach Jackson could not get to it and second baseman Callix Crabbe had trouble handling it.

 

"The ball came off Jackson's glove and I knew Pie was fast and I wanted to make sure I made the play,'' Crabbe said. "My instincts told me to bare hand it, but the ball still had some spin on it and I wasn't able to get a good hold on it."

 

Patterson's run was unearned and helped the Cubs win the series over Nashville 3-1 in front of a Greer Stadium crowd of 7,104.

 

Patterson got into scoring position after hitting a two-out double to the warning track in right field and advancing to third on an error by right fielder Laynce Nix.

 

Meanwhile, Nashville's bats went cold in the last four innings. The Sounds did not get a hit after the sixth.

 

"We had a couple of opportunities,'' said Brad Nelson, whose RBI double in the sixth gave Nashville a 2-0 lead. "It was a tough loss especially after I felt we had control of it most of the way."

 

Iowa, which had just four hits in the first six innings, rallied in the seventh with two runs.

 

Jim Brower (1-0) struck out two in 1 1/3 innings to pick up his first win of the season for Iowa.

 

Steve Bray fell to 0-4 for the Sounds after giving up one run on one hit and walking two batters in 1 2/3 innings.

[Mass Haas]

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Greer will hum with sounds of country stars today

By MIKE ORGAN

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

The Sounds have today off, but Greer Stadium won't be quiet.

 

The City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge will be played at noon today at Greer.

 

The Opry Live team will play AfterMidNite in the 18th annual game that benefits cancer research.

 

Opry Live team celebrities include country music stars Carrie Underwood, Phil Vassar, Vince Gill, and Daniel Peck along with Titans players Kyle Vanden Bosch, Cortland Finnegan, Rob Bironas and Daniel Loper.

 

The AfterMidNite team includes country music stars Jo Dee Messina, Montgomery Gentry, Randy Houser, Sara Evans and Blair Garner along with Titans players Donnie Nickey and Brandon Jones.

 

Tickets cost $18.

 

The Sounds return to action at 7 p.m. Thursday against Albuquerque at Greer.

 

Whoa, Nelly: The Sounds' Brad Nelson is batting .370 (27-for-73) over his past 21 games.

 

Nelson was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Tuesday's 3-2 loss in 10 innings to Iowa.

 

Nelson's double gave the Sounds a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, but Nashville did not get another hit.

 

"It was a fastball outside and I got a good one right up the middle,'' Nelson said.

 

Turnbow to start: A change in the Sounds pitching rotation was made Tuesday with former Franklin High star Derrick Turnbow replacing Lindsay Gulin as the starter Thursday.

 

It will mark the right-hander's third start since joining the Sounds on May 28.

 

Turnbow's best effort came Sunday against Iowa. He allowed no runs on one hit, struck out three batters and walked two in two innings.

 

Pitcher injured: Iowa starting pitcher J.R. Mathes left Tuesday's game in the fourth inning after suffering from left groin soreness.

 

Katin recovering: Sounds outfielder Brendan Katin was not in the lineup Tuesday night after being hit in the wrist by a pitch in Monday's game against Iowa.

Katin was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and released after being treated for a bruise.

 

Katin, who hit two home runs Sunday against Iowa, could be back in the lineup for Thursday's game against Albuquerque.

 

Rottino still rolling: Catcher Vinny Rottino extended his hitting streak to 13 games in the second inning by getting Nashville's first hit, a single.

 

Rottino's streak is the longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League. He finished 1-for-4 against Iowa.

[molitor fan]

The offensive level in the league has to be up a little bit more than normal, because otherwise this team should have a just ridiculous record instead of a really good one

 

If Salome is added to the batting leaderboard (right now he misses by a few at bats), Huntsville has 5 of the top 9 guys in the league in OPS. The league may be up a tick offensively, but if you look at the league OPS leaders, it is not by much, save for the Huntsville players.

[fondybrewfan]

What is the deal with all of Escobar's errors this year? He has 13 already, I thought he was suppose to have gold glove potential?

[bork]

Poor Mike Bell. The only starter with a Batting average below .290, OBP below .350, and OPS below .800.

[JohnBriggs12]

What is the deal with all of Escobar's errors this year? He has 13 already, I thought he was suppose to have gold glove potential?

 

Remember, he's still only 21. Last year he made 16 errors in 60 games for Brevard but settled down and made just 5 in 61 for Huntsville. 21 errors in a season for a 20 year old minor league SS is really pretty good.

 

His gold glove potential is based more on his range which is off the charts.

[Mass Haas]

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Power's Lucroy not happy unless Power winning

Season-high winning streak ends with loss to Lexington

by Jacob Messer

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

Jonathan Lucroy was sitting at his locker inside the Appalachian Power Park clubhouse last week when one of his teammates came by to congratulate him on another impressive performance at the plate.

 

"Man," the teammate said, "you're killing the ball."

 

"Yeah," Lucroy responded matter-of-factly, "but we aren't winning."

 

A week later, Lucroy still is hitting and the West Virginia Power finally is winning.

 

Well, it was until Tuesday morning, when the Class A club's season-high, five-game winning streak ended with a 6-3 loss to the Lexington (Ky.) Legends.

 

"We lost today, but we have still won five of the last six," said Lucroy, whose peers named him the team captain before the season opener.

"That's the way baseball goes. Sometimes, you win. Sometimes, you lose.

 

"If we don't give up any runs in the first three innings today, we win this game. We aren't the best hitting team, and we aren't the best pitching team. We just need to be more consistent and put both of them together at the right time and we're going to win."

 

Lucroy is 16-for-41 (.390) in his last 10 games with two home runs, six RBI and seven runs. He has raised his batting average to .310 and his totals to eight home runs, 28 RBI and 33 runs.

 

Those numbers are among the reasons Lucroy will play for the Northern Division squad in the 49th annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game, which is scheduled for June 17 at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C.

 

"I really don't care how good I do because we still aren't the best team in the league right now," said Lucroy, a catcher and designated hitter who joins center fielder Lee Haydel, starting pitcher Amaury Rivas and third baseman Zelous Wheeler as West Virginia's four all-star selections.

 

"If we were, maybe it would be OK. I'm an All-Star, but it really isn't that big of a deal because we haven't done too well in the first half."

 

West Virginia pitchers couldn't retire center fielder Collin DeLome, who was 4-for-5 with two runs and four RBI. He was only a double away from the cycle.

 

"We elevated some pitches on him and made some mistakes to him," Power Manager Jeff Isom said. "When you make a mistake to him, he's going to hit. That's what happened today."

 

Delome delivered an RBI triple in the top of the first inning, then scored on an RBI double by left fielder Brian Pellegrini.

 

Delome tagged West Virginia starter R.J. Seidel for a three-run home run -- his 11th -- in the third.

 

Third baseman Matt Cusick added a solo shot in the seventh for the Legends' final run.

 

The Power scored once in the first on an RBI single by right fielder Caleb Gindl and twice in the seventh on an RBI triple by left fielder Eric Fryer and an RBI single by catcher Uly Snijders.

 

Lexington reliever Brett Robinson (4-1) got the win after he threw four scoreless innings in which he allowed only one hit.

 

Seidel (2-4) took the loss after he gave up five runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings.

 

Wheeler (2-for-4) was the only Power player with multiple hits.

 

Seventh-place West Virginia dropped to 24-33 and eighth-place Lexington improved to 19-38 in a matchup of the Northern Division teams with the worst records.

 

A crowd of 7,976 attended the fourth and final Grand Slam School Day - the Power was 0-4 in those early-morning home games this season.

 

West Virginia will start a three-game road series against Kannapolis (N.C.) tonight at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium. The Power will start right-hander Rivas (4-1, 2.44). The Intimidators will counter with right-hander Anthony Carter (5-2, 2.77).

 

* * *

 

For those who like to keep up with the Power alumni, here is an interesting note about former West Virginia left-handed pitcher David Welch (2006).

 

The Australian southpaw threw a seven-inning no-hitter for Huntsville (Ala.) in a 2-0 win over Chattanooga (Tenn.) on Monday night, which, incidentally, was his 25th birthday. He had a perfect game until he issued a two-out walk in the sixth.

 

With the victory, Welch (7-1) became the first seven-game winner in the Class AA Southern League.

 

Another Power alumnus, outfielder Matt LaPorta (2007), provided one of the runs with a solo shot. It was his 15th home run this season.

[Mass Haas]

Salome slugs Stars past Lookouts

By Rob Jemella / Special to MLB.com

In a game full of offensive fireworks, Angel Salome put on the biggest show.

Salome went 3-for-4 with a home run and six RBIs on Tuesday night, powering the Huntsville Stars to a 15-10 victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field.

"I've had some good games but never six RBIs," Salome said. "I feel pretty good, too, because of the way the game went. We needed to keep scoring."

Salome, who turns 22 on Sunday, started the scoring in the first inning with a three-run homer to right field. He added a two-run single during a six-run eighth, then completed his night with an RBI single as Huntsville tacked on three runs in the ninth.

"In a game like that, you've got to keep hitting," Salome said. "You can't give up because you never know when a team can come back on you."

The 2004 fifth-round pick, who served a 50-game suspension last season, has 14 RBIs in his last five games and is hitting .413 (50-for-121) since April 14.

Cole Gillespie had three hits and three RBIs, while Matt LaPorta doubled three times and drove in a run for Huntsville. The Stars pounded out 21 hits en route to their second straight win.

Starter Brae Wright (4-5) allowed three runs on six hits over six innings for Huntsville (36-23).

James Avery (2-3) took the loss after giving up four runs on 10 hits over five frames.

Justin Turner had two doubles and drove in three runs for the Lookouts (30-29), while Chris Valaika and Eric Eymann each contributed three hits and an RBI.

[TooLiveBrew]

"Huntsvilles' Bats Go Bonkers Again"

 

Maybe you should only start updating the thread title on Huntsville when their bats don't go bonkers, MH. It seems like it'd be a lot less work!

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

What is the deal with all of Escobar's errors this year? He has 13 already, I thought he was suppose to have gold glove potential?

Remember, he's still only 21. Last year he made 16 errors in 60 games for Brevard but settled down and made just 5 in 61 for Huntsville. 21 errors in a season for a 20 year old minor league SS is really pretty good.

 

His gold glove potential is based more on his range which is off the charts.

For anyone that has seen Escobar play, does he get more errors because he gets to more balls with his range or is he booting routine plays and making throwing errors?