Link Report for Mon. 7/30 - LaPorta Opens Career with a Bang

[Mass Haas]

Final: Columbus (Devil Rays) 5, West Virginia 2

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER LOSE EARLY LEAD

 

The West Virginia Power scored the first two runs of Monday?s game at Golden Park, but the Columbus Catfish scored the final five and walked away with a 5-2 victory in the first game of the series.

 

In the first inning, Taylor Green?s groundout plated Charlie Fermaint to give the Power an early edge. Later in the inning they left the bases loaded after Jeremy Hellickson struck out Steve Chapman to end the inning. The Power scored again in the third inning on Chuckie Caufield?s base hit. Later in the inning Hellickson worked his way out of another bases loaded jam as he struck out Chapman and Martin Maldonado to end the threat.

 

In the bottom of the third Desmond Jennings reached on a fielder?s choice and scored Craig Albernaz to put the Catfish on the board. Columbus scored twice in the fifth inning to take the lead. Jairo Delarosa reached on a fielder?s choice and Matt Fields scored the tying run in the process. Later in the inning John Matulia?s sacrifice fly brought Albernaz in to give the Catfish the lead. Matulia struck again in the seventh with an RBI triple and Fields knocked in the final run with a two-out, run-scoring base hit in the eighth.

 

Hellickson (9-2) allowed two runs on six hits and struck out five through five innings to get the win, Neal Frontz (13) pitched two scoreless innings to get the save and Alex Periard (5-4) was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs on five hits over six innings.

 

The Power fell to 66-40 overall and 18-20 in the second half, and the Catfish improved to 62-44 overall and 21-15 in the second half with the win. Andrew Lefave and Caufield both had a pair of hits for the Power.

 

The Power will continue the four game series against Columbus Tuesday night. The Power will start right hander Shawn Ferguson (2-1, 2.72) and the Catfish will counter with right hander Heath Rollins (11-4, 2.72). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

OK, so Andrew Lefave is hitting .350, has a .950 OPS in a fairly neutral offensive league, and has walked the same number of times as he's K'd -- all this after hitting .353 in the Maryvale sun last season -- at some point, we have to stop punishing the kid because he turned 23 in April and wasn't drafted; in 51 IP, Alex Periard has struck out only 20, to join the conversation from above -- he's living dangerously, but he just turned 20 (as I type that he's "just 20", I remind myself of Will Inman and Steve Garrison -- I have to stop doing that)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_clmafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

Those two Power strikeouts in the 3rd were just game-killers, as it turned out...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_clmafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Attendance in Columbus, Georgia, notoriously the lowest on average in the Sally League, was 426. I take it our pogokat had the run of the park.

[pogokat]

i stretched out...

 

actually, there were a couple hundred more at this one than there were at the Kanapolis intimidators game where I taped jeffress earlier in the year...

 

Ctown doesn't draw the crowds...

 

check out the attendance on thursday though, because it's dollar beer night...

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Reliever Seth McClung:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...207-30.mp3

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 4, Sacramento (A's) 0

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Adam Pettyjohn photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2480

 

Pettyjohn Tames Cats With Seven-Hit Shutout

 

NASHVILLE ? Left-hander Adam Pettyjohn tossed a complete-game seven-hit shutout to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Sacramento River Cats on Monday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

Pettyjohn (8-2) threw 98 pitches in the outing, including 71 strikes, and struck out six batters while notching his third career shutout and first since 2005. In his last 13 starts, the southpaw carries a 10-2 record and 3.31 ERA (30 ER / 81.2 IP).

 

The shutout was the seventh of the year for Nashville (66-43), matching Fresno for the most in the Pacific Coast League this season.

 

The Sounds grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Shane Komine when cleanup hitter Joe Dillon registered his team-leading 73rd RBI of the season by plating Callix Crabbe with a sacrifice fly.

 

Tony Gwynn upped the Nashville lead to 3-0 in the seventh when he greeted River Cats reliever Jeffrey Gray by ripping an 0-2 offering to the wall in right-center for a two-run double that plated Chris Barnwell and Crabbe. Gabe Gross followed with an RBI single to center to bring in Gwynn for a 4-0 advantage.

 

AUDIO: Tony Gwynn Two-Run Double --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...207-30.mp3

 

Komine (3-11) took the loss after he allowed three runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings. His 11 defeats tie for the most among PCL hurlers this season.

 

The teams wrap up the series with a 7 p.m. finale on Tuesday evening at Greer. Sounds right-hander Mark DiFelice (1-0, 1.42) will man the bump to face Sacramento southpaw Dan Meyer (6-1, 3.57).

 

Nashville Box Score:

Wonderful 98-pitch effort by Adam Pettyjohn -- after all we've read about him this season, how can you be anything but thrilled for the guy; two hours and four minutes, blink and you missed it; Callix Crabbe two more walks, two more runs scored; Gabe Gross and Tony Gwynn getting AB's; the six position players in Nashville who are on the 40-man roster are all capable of outfield play (Gross, Gwynn, Laynce Nix, Drew Anderson, Joe Dillon, and Vinny Rottino)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

[pogokat]

Periard in the Bottom of the 2nd

 

here's the first Periard Video

[Mass Haas]

MiLB.com's Weekly Roundups --

 

Nashville Sounds

 

THE WEEK THAT WAS: The Sounds, in first place in the American Northern Division, went 3-3.

 

WHO'S HOT/NOT: IF Joe Dillon batted .467 (14-for-30) with 10 runs scored over his last 10 games. ... OF Brad Nelson hit .474 (9-for-19) with four home runs and 13 RBIs over a five-game span. ... OF Laynce Nix had two hits in 28 at-bats (.071) over eight games.

 

ON A SURGE: One of the Sounds' most dependable run producers all season, Dillon is now making a move up the PCL's hitting leaderboard. He went 1-for-2 with two walks Friday against Fresno, raising his season average to .316 to enter the weekend as the league's 10th-best hitter. The Sounds' leader in home runs (20) and RBIs (72), the 31-year-old was batting .392 (31-for-79) with five home runs and 19 RBIs in July, compared to .277 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in June. Dillon came into the season as a career .294 hitter in the Minor Leagues, his best season average being the .360 he put up in 98 games for Albuquerque in 2005. His career best in home runs came the year before, when he hit 33 for the Isotopes.

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "None of our wins are easy, we always have to go out and perform." -- Manager Frank Kremblas, to the Tennessean, on the Sounds' effort in racing to the league's best record.

 

***

Huntsville Stars

 

THE WEEK THAT WAS: The Stars (20-16) had their winning streak halted at 12 games, as they dropped four of five at Jacksonville. They then lost the opener of a home series with Chattanooga to fall out of first place in the North Division.

 

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: 2B Hernan Iribarren was 10-for-20 with three doubles and two walks against Jacksonville. . . . RHP Vince Perkins was 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in three appearances, walking seven in 4 2/3 innings.

 

ON THE MOVE: RHP Will Inman was one of three players sent to the Padres by the Brewers in exchange for reliever Scott Linebrink. Inman, considered one of the top prospects in the entire Milwaukee system, was just 1-5 with a 5.45 ERA in eight starts for the Stars after being promoted from Brevard County of the Florida State League. Also going to the Padres in the deal was LHP Joe Thatcher, who started the season in the Huntsville bullpen.

 

OTHER COMINGS AND GOINGS: The Stars also lost LHP Mitch Stetter, who was promoted to Triple-A Nashville, but received RHP E.J. Shanks and RHP Robert Hinton from Brevard. Shanks has put himself on the fast track, notching 10 saves with a 1.65 ERA for the Manatees after recording nine saves and posting a 1.72 ERA for West Virginia in the South Atlantic League.

 

***

Brevard County Manatees

 

THE WEEK THAT WAS: The Manatees had a good week, winning four of five games. As a result, Brevard County has a two-game lead over Jupiter in the FSL East Division.

 

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: SS Yohannis Perez is one reason the Manatees continue to stay in first place. The native of Cuba is hitting .414 over his last eight games (12 hits in 29 at-bats) with eight RBIs. In his last five games, Perez has six RBIs and is hitting .474 (nine hits in 19 at-bats). . . . 2B Mike Bell's hitting is going into a tailspin. Although batting .297 in his last 10 games, Bell has just three hits in his last 18 at-bats (.167).

 

PLAYER TO WATCH: Perez drove in six runs July 24 in a 10-1 Brevard County win over St. Lucie. The 24-year-old had four hits in five at-bats with an RBI single in the second, a two-run single in the fifth and a bases-clearing triple in the eighth.

 

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: SP David Welch nearly had a perfect game July 26 in a 6-2 Brevard County win over Vero Beach. Welch took the perfecto into the eighth before a dropped infield fly and an RBI-double ended the bid. Welch fanned five and walked none. He was pulled with two out in the seventh.

 

***

West Virginia Power

 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Power (18-19 second half; 66-39 overall) were 3-4 and are fifth in the SAL Northern, five games behind Hickory.

 

WHO'S HOT: The Power continue to lead the SAL in team batting average at .288. IF-OF Andrew Lefave leads the league at .348 (112-for-322) average. 3B Taylor Green is fifth at .323 (95-for-294). OF Chuck Caufield is hitting .296 (123-for-415) and is third in the SAL in RBIs (76) and leads in hits (123). RHP Donovan Hand arrived from Helena of the Pioneer League and won his first start, limiting Hagerstown to one run in five innings.

 

WHO'S NOT: C Andy Bouchie is hitting .223 (52-for-233) after a 1-for-10 week. RHP Matt Kretzschmar is 0-2, 9.00 in 11 relief appearances since joining the club.

 

NEWS & NOTES: Hand was a 14th-round pick by Milwaukee in the 2007 Draft. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound native of Hatton, Ala., was a three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection at Jacksonville (Ala.) State. In 2007, he led Jax State with seven wins and 82 strikeouts. He posted a 2.87 earned run average in OVC play and held conference foes to a .192 batting average. He was named the OVC Pitcher of the Week four times in 2007.

 

DID YOU KNOW?: RHP Travis Wendte, who was 6-0, 2.50 with five saves out of the bullpen for West Virginia, earned a promotion to Class A Advanced Brevard County.

 

***

Helena Brewers

 

SO FAR THIS SEASON: The Brewers are 26-11 and in first place in the North Division.

 

WHO'S HOT: The Brewers -- who are 20-5 this month after a 6-6 start in June.

 

STREAKING: Infielder Steffan Wilson is in possession of the Pioneer League's longest current hitting streak. His string of 17 games, which began June 30, is approaching the league-best mark for this season, a 20-game run from June 29-July 21 by Great Falls' Christian Marrero.

 

THIEVERY: The Brew Crew have the most stolen bases in the Pioneer League this season with 38, which is one more than Orem. Twenty-eight of the steals have come in July.

 

SAVED: Right-hander Robert Bryson's six saves leads the league. He has posted a 1.99 ERA with 37 strikeouts in just 22 2/3 innings pitched.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 6, Chattanooga (Reds) 1

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1296

 

Stars Take Over Top Spot in North

 

Hernan Iribarren collected three hits and Lindsay Gulin worked five shutout frames to lead Huntsville past Chattanooga 6-1 Monday night in the middle contest of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars won their second straight game to improve to 22-16 in the second half and move into sole possession of first place in the North Division, one game ahead of the Lookouts, who fell to 21-17 in the second half. The Stars have won 15 of the 24 games between the teams this season.

 

Iribarren led off the home first with a single, moved to second base on a fielding error by third baseman Mike Griffin, that also allowed Michael Brantley to reach first, and to third base on a Steve Sollmann sacrifice bunt. Lou Palmisano hit a ground ball to shortstop that plated Iribarren and reached safely when first baseman Jay Garthwaite dropped the throw from Caonobe Cosme for what would have been the second out of the inning. Lookouts? starter Sam LeCure worked out of further trouble by fanning Adam Heether and retiring Brendan Katin on a fly ball out. Iribarren grounded into a double play with runners at the corners and nobody out in the fifth to give the home side a 2-0 lead. Iribarren has multi-hit games in five of his last six starts during which he has collected 14 hits.

 

Gulin worked out of trouble in the third inning by throwing Griffin out at the plate after he tried to score from third on a slow roller up the first base line by Adam Rosales and then struck Griffin out to end the fourth with two runners on. The veteran southpaw struck out Luis Bolivar and Tyrell Godwin with two runners on in the fifth and closed his night allowing three hits, walking three and fanning six. Gulin earned his 10th win of the year with his fourth victory over the Lookouts in as many starts and has now won six straight decisions since his last loss on June 11 at West Tenn. He also improved to 6-0 at home.

 

Vince Perkins tossed two scoreless innings and the Stars lengthened their lead to 6-0 in the seventh against Carlos Bohorquez on a bases loaded walk to Palmisano, a run-scoring single by Heether and another fielding error at third by Griffin. LeCure lasted 5 1/3 frames, giving up three runs on six hits, while walking two and striking out two. He fell to 6-3 with all of his losses against the Stars.

 

Cosme, named Southern League Hitter of the Week earlier in the day, ended the Lookouts 17-inning scoring drought with a leadoff long ball in the ninth against Jeff Housman, who went two innings to close out the win.

 

The series continues Tuesday evening with left-hander Steve Hammond taking the hill against Lookouts? right-hander Johnny Cueto. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Hernan Iribarren trying to get our attention again; I think it would be amazing to have a home plate umpire's view of a Lindsay Gulin-pitched game, with his 75 MPH heat...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

[And That]

Iribarren has been solid since April. The Southern League is a tough place to hit, and he's done enough to advance to AAA next year. Very few hitters get a lot better in AA for the Crew.

[TheCrew07]

Most of the guys who led the Stars in the first have been sliding in the second, it's nice to see the other guys on the roster starting to pick it up.

 

Palmisano, Heether, Sollmann have all had a tough time at the plate the last 2 weeks.

[Mass Haas]

Monday's Helena KCAP Audio Pre-Game Interview with Matt LaPorta:

Be sure you're on the July 30th archive, go to the 13:00 minute mark:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

 

Audio quality much better tonight.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 8, Missoula (Diamondbacks) 3

 

Helena Site Game Summary:

 

Brewers Victorious in First Game of Second Half

 

HELENA ? Two days after clinching the 2007 Pioneer League North Division first-half title the Helena Brewers won their first game of the second half Monday night. The Brewers defeated the Missoula Osprey 8-3 and the Brewers first-round pick, Matt LaPorta, impressed in his professional debut.

 

Missoula scored the game's first run in the top of the first inning, but LaPorta tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning. On an 0-1 count, two out and no one on LaPorta hit a no-doubt home run to left field with his first professional swing. The Osprey reclaimed the lead in the third inning with another single run. The Brewers, however, scored four runs in the bottom half of the third inning and did not surrender the lead the rest of the game. Kurt Crowell provided the big hit of the inning with a three-run, bases-clearing triple. Jordan Swaydan followed with an RBI single to give Helena a 5-2 advantage.

 

Bobby Bramhall pitched five innings for the Brewers in his first professional start and also got his first win. The left-hander allowed just two runs on six hits. He also struck out six batters. Reliever Casey Baron pitched a scoreless sixth inning and lowered his ERA to 0.93. Closer Robert Bryson earned his seventh save of the season by pitching the final three innings. Bryson gave up one run in the eighth inning, but limited the Osprey to two hits and struck out three.

 

After taking a 5-2 lead Helena added three more runs in the seventh inning. Jonathan Lucroy hit his 14th double of the season and drove in two runs during the rally. Crowell followed with a RBI single, his fourth RBI of the game. Crowell and LaPorta each collected two hits on the evening -- the only Brewers with multiple hits.

 

Helena (1-0, 27-12) and Missoula (0-1, 14-25) will play the second of a three-game series Tuesday at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central).

 

Helena Box Score:

Welcome, Matt LaPorta; by the way, Jonathan Lucroy's pretty exciting, huh?

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Use the same audio link for the Matt LaPorta interview above, and skip to the 44 minute mark to hear his first pro at-bat HR -- thankfully, it occurred in Helena and not Maryvale, preserved in audio form forever. Matt homered off his college teammate, who obviously grooved one http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif . Steve Wendt had fun with the call. LaPorta is wearing # 92, a la Ryan Braun while he was at Helena.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Brewers 5, Arizona Padres 4

Do you realize how nice a walkoff win must have felt to these guys?

 

Arizona Box Score:

Edgar Trejo's one-out, two-run single gives the A-Crew the victory; Joey Paciorek reaches three times; Carlos Hereaud and D. J. Neyens also with two hits apiece; you are seeing better play and more consistency from these kids as of late in all three areas of the game, although there were three errors in this one...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

 

Arizona Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS

 

Pettyjohn gives bullpen a rest

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

He wasn't perfect, but Nashville's Adam Pettyjohn was close enough.

 

The Sounds' right-hander scattered seven hits over a season-high nine innings Monday night in a 4-0 shutout of visiting Sacramento.

 

Pettyjohn's complete-game shutout was the second by a Nashville pitcher this season. Manny Parra achieved the feat in a June 25 perfect game at Round Rock.

 

"I've been in the bullpen before; when you know you're strapped down there, being able to go six, seven, eight innings is big, to be able to give them a rest," said Pettyjohn (8-2), who has won 12 games this season between the Sounds and Double-A Huntsville.

 

While Pettyjohn (8-2) was keeping the River Cats off the scoreboard with 98 pitches, the Sounds offense scratched out a run in the opening inning and added three in the seventh.

 

"It's a credit to the offense, the run support I've gotten and the good defense behind me," Pettyjohn said after winning his fifth straight start. Nashville has averaged seven runs in those five outings.

 

For the Sounds, the win was the first in three games against Sacramento this season and the seventh in the last 37 meetings between the two clubs.

 

On the move: Nashville pitcher Dennis Sarfate was placed on the disabled list prior to Monday's game against visiting Sacramento, after suffering a strained neck during Saturday's 13-6 loss to the River Cats.

 

Over his last two appearances, Sarfate has faced 11 hitters and recorded one out. All six Sacramento hitters reached base against him in his spot start Saturday.

 

Outfielder Tony Gwynn filled the roster spot vacated by Sarfate.

 

VIPs at Greer: Sounds founder Larry Schmittou was in attendance at Monday's game, and visited with Sacramento Manager Tony DeFrancesco prior to the contest. DeFrancesco spent the 1988 and the 1990-91 seasons with the Sounds, when they were the Cincinnati Reds' Class AAA affiliate.

 

Also, Oak Ridge Boys bass singer Richard Sterban ? a former Sounds part-owner ? made an appearance Monday night.

 

Reunited: Nashville hitting coach Harry Spilman returned Monday from attending a weekend reunion of the 1987 San Francisco Giants. That team won the National League West Division and lost to eventual World Series champion St. Louis in a seven-game NLCS.

 

Spilman, who spent parts of 11 seasons in the majors with the Reds, Astros and Tigers in addition to the Giants, hit .267 that year with a home run and 14 RBI in 83 games.

 

Among his '87 teammates were future managers Bob Brenly and Bob Melvin, and a 23-year-old Will Clark who hit a team-leading 35 home runs.

 

Alumni report: Darryl Brinkley, who hit .300 or better in each of his three seasons with the Sounds (1998-00, Pirates organization), is still raking.

 

Through 60 games with Calgary of the independent Northern League, the 38-year-old Brinkley is currently hitting .408. The 14-year veteran, who has never made a major league appearance, is a career .325 hitter in the minors. He's hit .300 in all but two of his seasons, hitting .293 and .285 in the other two years.

 

What they said: "They're good; they've always been a good team. They're not going to give it away. You've got to beat them." ? Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas, whose team has lost 30 of its last 37 games against Sacramento.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1

 

Huntsville hitters prove resourceful

Stars manufacture runs to back up dominant pitching

By BRAD SHEPARD

For the Huntsville Times

 

As tight-knit as this year's version of the Huntsville Stars is, it's easy to put rough patches in the rearview mirror.

 

After completing a 6-1 win over Chattanooga on Monday to jump into first place ahead of the Lookouts, a horrible series at Jacksonville and a series-opening loss at home seemed a distant memory.

 

Players were yelling and laughing after the team's second consecutive win.

 

Adam Heether was joking that the Stars haven't lost since outfielder Ryan Crew got engaged. And winning pitcher Lindsay Gulin may not have even been the luckiest member of his family.

 

His wife, Traci, who was among the crowd of 1,238 at Joe Davis Stadium, won $50 in a text message promotion.

 

"I get the win, and she wins 50 bucks," he said with a smile. "She can pay for dinner tonight."

 

Thanks to his own performance, a salty bullpen and a perfect game of small ball, Gulin probably had a hearty meal. The victory moved the Stars' record to 22-16 in the second half, despite only one RBI hit all night.

 

"We've been struggling to get runs across lately, obviously," Steve Sollmann said. "It's getting to the point, though, where you expect Lindsay to come out and dominate every game he pitches."

 

Huntsville manufactured all six of its runs by getting leadoff men on and coming up with creative ways to score.

 

Even the three-run seventh was low-lighted by Chattanooga reliever Carlos Bohorquez walking in one run and the Lookouts making an error that led to another one.

 

The Stars started scoring early when Hernan Iribarren led off the game with a single, Michael Brantley reached on an error and Sollmann sacrificed them over. A Lou Palmisano groundout brought the first run across.

 

The Stars manufactured another run in the fifth. Alcides Escobar led off with a single, and after a Crew hit, Escobar came home when Iribarren hit into a double play.

 

The Lookouts didn't score until Caonabo Cosme hit a home run in the ninth. It couldn't mess up the night by Gulin and relievers Vince Perkins and Jeff Housman.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.helenair.com/articles...107_01.txt

 

Brewers kick off winning second half

By CURT SYNNESS, Helena Independent Record Sports Writer

 

Ask any baseball fan to tell you their reasons for watching minor league ball, and invariably close to the top of almost every list will be the opportunity to get to see a future big leaguer in action.

 

This year?s Helena Brewers are a talented bunch, with several players who will eventually make ?The Show.?

 

One of the most promising Brewers made an auspicious debut at Kindrick Legion Field Monday night, getting his first homer as a pro ? on his very first swing of the bat at a professional pitch.

 

Helena (27-12) downed the Missoula Osprey 8-3, starting the second half of the Pioneer League season with a win, after copping the first half Northern Division title. But the big news of the night was the introduction to Helena of Matt LaPorta, Milwaukee?s No. 1 draft choice, and the player who hit that homer.

 

LaPorta just completed his collegiate career as the University of Florida?s all-time home run king, with 74. He hit 20 dingers this year in 52 games for the Gators, with a .402 batting average.

 

The two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year was not expected to play so soon, as he was recently nursing a sore leg. But Brewers manager Jeff Isom inserted LaPorta in the lineup as the designated hitter, and it didn?t take him long to pick up where he left off in college.

 

LaPorta was facing Missoula?s Bryan Augustein ? who just happened to be his teammate on the Gators ? in the second inning. After taking the first pitch, he crushed the ball high and deep over the left field fence to tie the game up at 1-1.

 

The Osprey took a temporary 2-1 lead in their half of the third before the Brewers plated four runs in the bottom of the stanza, which turned out to be enough to send the visitors to their ninth straight loss. Zach McAngus reached on an error, David Fonseca and Jonathan Lucroy each walked, and then left fielder Kurt Crowell cleared the bases with a long triple to right-center.

 

Jordan Swaydan then singled in Crowell, and the locals led 5-2.

 

Helena hurler Bobby Bramhall, a left-hander starting his first game this season, went five decent innings and picked up the victory. Bramhall permitted six hits and struck out six batters. Twice, in the second and fourth frames, he was able to work himself out of jams with two men on and nobody out without giving up a run.

 

Casey Baron relieved and pitched the sixth, while Robert Bryson worked the final three stanzas.

 

In the Brewers? half of the fourth inning, Anthony Wycklendt doubled and then advanced to third. When Scotty McKnight grounded to second, Wycklendt sprinted for home on contact. The ball arrived first, as the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Brewer crashed into catcher Gerardo Bustamante, 5-8 and 184. The collision briefly knocked Bustamante unconscious, but he somehow held onto the ball for the out.

 

Incredibly, the Missoula backstop was able to regroup and gun down McKnight in an attempted steal during the very next at-bat.

 

The home team plated three runs in the seventh, behind a two-run double by Jonathan Lucroy and an RBI single by Crowell. Crowell finished the night at 3-for-4, with four ribbies, while LaPorta was 2-for-4.

 

Missoula?s offense was led by Derrick Walker, with a home run and two RBI, and Jimmy Principe and Bustamante, with two hits apiece. Augenstein received the pitching loss.

 

The Brewers will face the Osprey again tonight at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central) at Kindrick Legion Field.

[igor67]

I don't know about LaPorta I mean that infinite K to walk ratio in the Pioneer league pretty much screams free swinger. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif