Link Report for Monday 9/4 -- Several Mid-Day Updates

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Monday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Ben Hendrickson at home vs. Round Rock (Astros), 11:40 AM pre-game; 12:00 PM gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: RHP Mike Jones at Birmingham (White Sox), 12:20 PM pre-game, 12:35 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.espn1450radio.com/

 

Brevard County: Season completed

 

West Virginia: LHP Steve Garrison at Hickory (Pirates), 10:50 AM pre-game, 11:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower.

 

Helena: RHP Amaury Rivas at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime

 

Audio (click on "Listen Live"):

www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php

 

Arizona: Season completed

[Mass Haas]

Follow Monday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often.

 

Nashville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_biraax_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hicafx_1

 

Helena:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

[Mass Haas]

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated an hour or two prior to gametime:

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

 

Following Nashville's lead, Huntsville now makes its media notes available as well, nice:

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

 

NOTE: Huntsville notes haven't been updated as of this post since 8/24...

[Mass Haas]

Standings through Sunday's action:

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 76 67 .531 - 42-29 34-38 W1[/b] Iowa 75 68 .524 1.0 43-28 32-40 W3 Memphis 58 85 .406 18.0 34-39 24-46 W1 Omaha 53 90 .371 23.0 31-40 22-50 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Huntsville 42 26 .618 - 21-12 21-14 W1[/b] Tennessee 38 31 .551 4.5 21-13 17-18 W3 Chattanooga 37 32 .536 5.5 20-15 17-17 L2 West Tenn 31 38 .449 11.5 21-13 10-25 W2 Carolina 29 40 .420 13.5 21-13 8-27 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 36 29 .554 - 20-11 16-18 L2 Daytona 36 31 .537 1.0 24-15 12-16 L1 St. Lucie 37 32 .536 1.0 20-15 17-17 L2 [b]Brevard County 29 34 .460 6.0 14-14 15-20 W1[/b] Vero Beach 25 38 .397 10.0 16-16 9-22 W2 Jupiter 24 42 .364 12.5 14-20 10-22 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 46 23 .667 - 25-9 21-14 L2 Lake County 35 32 .522 10.0 17-16 18-16 W2 [b]West Virginia 35 32 .522 10.0 21-12 14-20 L2[/b] Hickory 34 34 .500 11.5 17-20 17-14 W2 Greensboro 32 34 .485 12.5 16-18 16-16 L3 Lexington 30 38 .441 15.5 20-14 10-24 W4 Hagerstown 29 40 .420 17.0 17-19 12-21 W3 Delmarva 27 41 .397 18.5 17-16 10-25 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 24 10 .706 - 14-3 10-7 W1 Missoula 22 12 .647 2.0 12-5 10-7 W5 [b]Helena 19 15 .559 5.0 11-6 8-9 L1[/b] Great Falls 8 26 .235 16.0 6-11 2-15 L5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Angels 19 8 .704 - 6-3 13-5 W1 AZL Royals 19 9 .679 0.5 9-6 10-3 W2 AZL Padres 18 9 .667 1.0 11-4 7-5 L1 AZL Giants 16 11 .593 3.0 8-6 8-5 L1 AZL Athletics 14 13 .519 5.0 10-4 4-9 W3 AZL Cubs 11 16 .407 8.0 4-9 7-7 L2 AZL Mariners 11 16 .407 8.0 8-6 3-10 L3 AZL Rangers 8 20 .286 11.5 6-9 2-11 L4 [b]AZL Brewers 7 21 .250 12.5 5-9 2-12 W2[/b]

[plowjockey]

I guess the weather report was the reason Inman started yestersday instead of Garrison. That would have been something if his last start would have been washed out and he missed the ERA title. All in all, I thought WV played really well this year and has several really intriguing prospects. I look forward to seeing how long Inman, Salome and Cain stay in Brevard next year. Will they could advance to Huntsville mid year or maybe they stay and put another rush on the playoffs in Brevard? Should be a fun group to watch.

[And That]

Huntsville's Jeff Eure and Birmingham's Michael Meyers both going for the every-position-in-a-game feat. I don't think I've ever seen two players on opposing teams do that in the same game. Kind of neat. Mike Jones with 4 hitless, scoreless innings for the Stars, who are up 1-0 in the late innings.

[Bambis Bombers]

I like the fact that Eure gets the save in a 1-0 victory for the Stars. Nice performance by Mike Jones, too. Four innings of 1 hit ball.

[pogokat]

Final: Round Rock ('Stros) 10, Nashville 4

 

Drew Andersone with a nice sample in Nashville this year...Hopefull that continues next year and Drew finds himself a major league career...TGJ with a triple...Hendrickson fading a bit lately---ERA of 5.97 in August...trend continues in september

 

Nashville Box Score

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c..._nasaaa_1

[pogokat]

Final: Huntsville 1, Birmingham (W-Sox) 0

 

Let me be the first (before Clancy reads this thread) to declare Jeff Eure the future slugging catcher slash closer in Milwaukee

 

Huntsville Box Score and Game Log

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c..._biraax_1

[pogokat]

chris errecart with hi 13th homer of the season...don't forget to buy a helena camo jersey on ebay right now!

[pogokat]

Huntsville Site Gme Review

link, then text

 

Stars Close Regular Season With Shutout Win

 

Mike Jones and three relievers combined on a two-hit shutout, as Huntsville closed out the regular season with a 1-0 win at the Hoover Met on Monday afternoon. The Stars took five out of six in the season-ending series to finish the second half at 43-26 and 67-71 overall, while the Barons finished the second half at 28-42 and with an overall mark of 59-81. Jeff Eure of the Stars and Michael Myers of the Barons each played all nine positions and both finished the game on the hill for their respective teams.

 

Jones threw four scoreless, hitless innings in his first start with the Stars since 2004. He was taken out of the game after walking three, striking out three and tossing 65 pitches and was replaced by Joe Thatcher, who retired the side in order in the fifth inning. Chris Getz led off the home sixth with a bunt base hit to end the visitors no-hit bid but was stranded at third base when Corey Smith grounded out to end the frame.

 

Chris Mabeus took over for the Stars in the seventh inning and retired all six hitters he faced before Eure stepped to the hill in the ninth. He allowed a leadoff, ground rule double to Chris Amador, retired Myers on a ground out to shortstop and ended the game by striking out Smith and Micah Schnurstein to earn the first save of his career.

 

Eure started the game at catcher and moved to his right from first base through third base along the infield and then from left field to center to right in the outfield before taking the mound. He also played all nine positions in a game for Ogden in rookie ball in 2002 at Idaho Falls.

 

Ozzie Chavez reached on an infield single and advanced to second base on errant throw to first by Barons? starting pitcher Jack Egbert with one out in the second inning. Travis Ezi doubled into right field with two outs to chase home Chavez and pick up his first extra-base hit since August 2 at home against Chattanooga. Egbert suffered the loss after going five innings, allowing six hits and fanning six. Brian West, Oneli Perez and Myers retired the last 10 batters they faced, with Myers retiring all three batters he encountered in the ninth.

 

The North Division playoffs begin Thursday night at Chattanooga, with Stars right-hander Corey Thurman taking the hill against Lookouts? right-hander Homer Bailey, the top-rated prospect in the Cincinnati organization. Coverage begins at 7:00 pm central time and can be heard locally on ESPN Radio 1450 AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

[pogokat]

Nashville Site Game Review

Link, including pic 'o Drew Anderson, then text

 

Sounds Drop Regular Season Finale, 10-4

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The American Conference Northern Division Champions Sounds closed out the season with a 10-4 loss to the Round Rock Express on Monday afternoon in front of 5,165 fans at Greer Stadium.

 

With the loss, Nashville finished the 2006 regular season with a 76-68 record, one win better than last season?s championship club.

 

Both Tony Gwynn (2-for-5) and Chris Barnwell (1-for-2) ended the season with a .300 batting average for Nashville after entering the game just shy of the mark at .299 each. It was the second time that Barnwell has been able to end the season at the .300 mark; the infielder batted .307 in rookie ball during his first pro campaign in 2001. This was the first time in Gwynn?s professional career that he has ended the season with .300 or better average.

 

After clinching the Northern Division Sunday night, manager Frank Kremblas decided to give first baseman Graham Koonce the day off. Outfielder Dave Krynzel took Koonce?s spot at first base, making his first career appearance at any position outside of the outfield.

 

Express starter Ezequiel Astacio (8-4) worked five innings of two-hit baseball en route to picking up his eighth win of the season.

 

Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson (9-http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/glasses.gif took the loss, failing in his sixth consecutive attempt to record his 10th win of the season. He hurled four innings and allowed five Round Rock players to cross home on eight hits. Hendrickson earned his most recent win on August 3rd at Fresno.

 

Round Rock jumped on the board first, etching a run of the game in the second inning. With Hector Gimenez on second, Derek Nicholson doubled off the base of the left field wall. Nicholson?s RBI double was his first two-base hit of the season.

 

The Express increased their lead to five runs, plating runs in both the third and fourth innings. In the third inning, with runners on first and second, former Sound J.R. House singled to center to plate Royce Huffman from second. With one out, Brooks Conrad advanced 90 feet, from third to home, on a Gimenez sac fly to center.

 

In the fourth frame, the Express notched two more runs with one swing of the bat. With Brian Gordon on first, Nicholson hit his third home run of the year, giving the Express a 5-0 lead.

 

The Sounds plated two runs in the sixth inning to climb within three. Gwynn led off the inning with his team-leading fifth triple of the year down the right field line. With one out, Drew Anderson hit a ball over the center field fence, plating himself and Gwynn. Anderson?s roundtripper was his first career Triple-A home run.

 

Chris Demaria came on in relief of Hendrickson in the fifth and worked three innings of shutout baseball to lower his ERA to a final 2.96 on the year.

 

Reliever Mitch Stetter followed Demaria and gave up four runs on three hits in the eighth inning. After walking House to load the bases, Stetter gave up a sac fly to Gimenez and then a pair of two-out RBI hits. Cody Ransom singled to center, scoring Conrad from second, and Gordon hit a bases-clearing double. Both House and Ransom scored on the two-bagger.

 

The Sounds answered back, plating two runs of their own in the home half of the eighth. With Jermaine Clark on first, Anderson doubled to center, allowing Clark to cross home. In the next at-bat, Krynzel singled to center field, scoring Anderson.

 

The Express etched out one more run in the top of the ninth to bring the score to its final 10-4.

 

The Sounds and the Express enjoy a day off on Tuesday before beginning the American Conference Finals, a best-for-five series with the first two games being played Wednesday and Thursday at Greer. The final three games will be played in Round Rock starting on Friday.

 

The Sounds and Express face off for game one of the American Conference Finals on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Greer Stadium. The Sounds will give the starting nod to Carlos Villanueva (7-1, 2.71) and the Express will send Taylor Buchholz (1-3, 4.91) to the bump.

[pogokat]

Final: Great Falls 10 (W-Sox), Helena 2

 

Helena Box Score and Game log

Chuckie Caulfield with 3 singles..

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c..._helrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1

 

Humble columnist proves to be a seer about the Stars

Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com

Huntsville Times

 

Hate to say I told you so, but ...From these pages on May 21:

 

"If Milwaukee doesn't poach too much more from the pitching staff, don't be stunned if the young players make sufficient adjustment at the plate to see them make a second-half pennant run."

 

Hey, when your last correct prediction was Reagan over Mondale, you get to gloat a minute.

 

The Huntsville Stars didn't just make a run. They made a sprint.

 

They are in the Southern League playoffs, which begin Thursday in Chattanooga, finishing the second half at 43-26 after Monday's 1-0 win over Birmingham.

 

They even had some fun doing so.

 

Jeff Eure, valued for his versatility as much as his clutch hitting (team high 54 RBIs), played every position Monday, even earning the save.

 

When the pennant prediction was made, there wasn't much fun.

 

The Stars were on the way to losing 14 straight games and would eventually finish 24-45 in the first half.

 

Historians among us were trying to determine if they were indeed the worst team to ever grace Joe W. Davis Stadium.

 

Even if stats couldn't quantify it, it didn't seem like any team this side of "Chico's Bail Bonds" could be any worse.

 

I really did believe they could be contenders. That's the beauty of the split-season in the minor leagues. It's the only fair thing, considering the fluid nature of the minors, with so many roster changes.

 

(Confession time: I also believed they would run out of gas in late August and come up a little short of the playoffs, like a basketball team that cuts a 15-point lead but never gets over the hump to win the game.)

 

Let's give much credit to the Stars' curmudgeonly manager, Don Money.

 

As catcher Lou Palmisano joked recently, "You come to the field, you're happy, the atmosphere's great. Of course, Don's still grumpy."

 

But he's not dopey.

 

He should have been the league's Manager of the Year, for keeping this team together and shepherding it into the playoffs.

 

There were key additions - pitchers Yovani Gallardo, Steve Hammond and Joe Valentine, third baseman Ryan Braun to name a few - but essentially it's the same team that went 24-45.

 

What Money did was keep his patience. He didn't panic.

 

He kept working and teaching, either through a barrage of ground balls during extra infield, or through grumpy lectures. Same for his coaches, Rich Sauveur and Sandy Guerrero.

 

Somehow, he kept his players believing - at least partly - that a pennant run was possible. Though the candid Palmisano was probably speaking for a lot of his teammates:

 

"I'm going to be amazed until next season," he said. "I never thought this would happen. You're always thinking positive. You want to be positive about your team and yourself, but when you're losing games like we did, it's like, 'What the heck is going on?'

 

"Then, you get on a roll and it's like, 'Guys, we can do this.' It's like, let's go. Let's ride this out."

 

From this corner, we'll not even risk making a prediction on how long the ride lasts.

[Mass Haas]

Charleston Daily Mail:

 

Power season closes with cancellation

 

HICKORY, N.C. -- No tarp? No kidding.

 

Wet grounds canceled the West Virginia Power's South Atlantic League baseball season finale at L.P. Frans Stadium here Monday afternoon.

 

An unexpected rain shower passed through Hickory in the wee hours Monday. The tarp was not on the field, which was deemed unplayable. So, the Power got on the bus back to Charleston and will begin scattering to their homes today.

 

When Lake County fell to Northern Division second-half champ Lakewood, the Captains fell from a second-place tie with the Power (35-32). West Virginia finished second in both SAL half-seasons.

 

The Power was 39-30 in the first half, and became only the sixth Charleston low Class A club in 20 years to post a winning record in both halves (1991-93, ?97, 2004 and 2006).

 

Lorenzo Cain finished the season with a .307 batting average (third in the SAL batting race), and was the league leader in hits with 162. Right-hander Will Inman was the South Atlantic League's leader in ERA at 1.71. West Virginia also finishes the season with an SAL-leading .277 batting average, a club record in the 20 Class A seasons.

 

Several franchise records fell in the 2006 season as well. An attendance record was set (239,721) despite six rainouts. Cain set the franchise record in hits with 162, while outfielder Darren Ford set club stolen base record with 69. Inman's ERA was also a club record.

 

Lakewood, Lexington, Rome and Augusta advanced to the SAL playoffs, opening Wednesday.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=51931

 

Sounds shift focus to playoff series

By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent

 

The Sounds? Labor Day matinee against Round Rock at Greer Stadium was of literally no consequence to either team and it showed.

 

Nashville, which clinched its second straight division championship Sunday night, and the Express already knew they would meet in this week?s Pacific Coast League playoffs, which begin Wednesday night at Greer.

 

But the 144th and final regular season game meant a great deal to a pair of Sounds, who were looking to put the finishing touches on career seasons. Although Round Rock came away with the 10-4 win, the Sounds found silver lining in the form of Tony Gwynn and Chris Barnwell. The Nashville duo, who served as offensive catalysts all season, each collected enough hits Monday to finish the season with a .300 batting average.

 

Hitting .300 was an especially big deal to Gwynn, who had never done it before and hit .271 in Double-A last season..

 

?I worked hard this offseason,? said Gwynn, who is playing in his first season at the Triple-A level. ?The expectations that I came into the season wanting to do, [hitting .300] was definitely one of them.?

 

Gwynn and Barnwell both surpassed any reasonable expectations the Milwaukee Brewers franchise had in them for this season. Barnwell, who has always been excellent defensive shortstop, batted .330 before earning a July call-up to Milwaukee. When he came back down, he was moved to second in the batting order and his average dipped to below .300 in August.

 

Barnwell collected the necessary hit in his second at-bat, while Gwynn didn?t get his until the ninth inning. Both players finished hitting exactly .300.

 

?It?s nice, I?ve never done it in a full season,? Barnwell said. ?I?ve never hit higher than .246 in a full season. Hitting .299 really doesn?t matter, I knew I had to get a hit.?

 

As for the game itself, the defending PCL champion Sounds (76-68) were rather indifferent. Outfielder Dave Krynzel got a start at first base, where he?s never played before, and committed an error.

 

Three different pitchers were used as pinch-hitters, and Sounds batters were generally swinging at the first pitch every at-bat.

 

The ho-hum attitude came because the team had clinched its playoff berth the night before. Starting pitcher Ben Hendrickson (9-8) gave up five earned runs on eight hits over four innings and the Sounds never threatened after that. Nashville manager Frank Kremblas said he wasn?t worried about surrendering momentum, even though his club will host Round Rock Wednesday night.

 

?I don?t think we gave [the game] to them,? Kremblas said. ?It?s not a thing where you?re giving them one. To me [the game] didn?t make any difference.?

 

Drew Anderson supplied most of the Nashville offense, hitting a two-run homer in the sixth inning and notching three RBIs.

 

Carlos Villanueva (7-1) will take the mound for Nashville in the all-important series opener on Wednesday.

[Mass Haas]

Link for Tony Gwynn photo while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Nashville uses loss to prepare

Work begins early for playoff games

By JESSICA HOPP

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

If only for a day, the pressure was off.

 

Win or lose, the Sounds were going to see Round Rock again on Wednesday night in the opening series of the Pacific Coast League postseason's American Conference finals.

 

So despite the 10-4 loss to the Express in front of 5,165 fans at Greer Stadium on Monday afternoon, the Sounds did not lament the close of the regular season.

 

In fact, Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said it was a welcome opportunity to get some players at bats and some pitchers extra work.

 

Included in that list was left-handed reliever Mitch Stetter, who had pitched a total of two innings in his last five appearances.

 

Monday afternoon he collected one inning of work, surrendering four runs on three hits in the eighth to give Round Rock a 9-2 edge.

 

"Even though he didn't have the results he would probably like, it was good for him to face some guys," Kremblas said.

 

One player who welcomed the extra at bats was centerfielder Tony Gwynn, who needed every chance he got to reach his goal of a .300 average for the season. His single in the bottom of the ninth put him over the mark. Gwynn was 2-of-5 for the afternoon with one run scored.

 

Shortstop Chris Barnwell also reached .300 with a single in the third.

 

"I had to knock some rust off when I got sent back down (from the Brewers)," said Gwynn, who started the season hot, but had hit .264 in 22 games since returning to Nashville on Aug. 11. "But my mechanics are getting better and better at the plate. It is the perfect time as we head into the playoffs."

 

Express left fielder Derek Nicholson had three RBI on the afternoon, including a two-run home run to left in the fourth inning that gave Round Rock a 5-0 lead.

 

The Sounds scored two in the sixth when Drew Anderson hit his first career Triple-A home run, scoring Gwynn, and two more in the eighth off hits by Anderson and Dave Krynzel. But Round Rock had a four-run eighth and added one more in the ninth.

 

What they said: "We just have to do the same thing we have been doing all year, go out, have some fun and see what happens.'' ? Kremblas on the upcoming playoffs.

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Gwynn, Barnwell hit goal of .300

By JESSICA HOPP

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

At the beginning of the year, Tony Gwynn sat down with his father ? Tony Sr., a five-time Gold Glove winner with the San Diego Padres ? and set some goals. One of those was to hit .300 for the season. Mission accomplished.

 

In his fifth and final at bat on Monday afternoon, Gwynn singled to right to boost his average over the coveted benchmark. He joined Chris Barnwell, who singled to left in the third inning putting the shortstop over .300, as well.

 

"Barnwell and I had some work to do today," said Gwynn, who looked like he would miss out getting just one hit in his first four at bats. "He got his early so he got to come out of the game. I had to stay in, but man it feels good."

 

It was the first time in his career Gwynn had finished at .300. His previous best average was .280, which he collected playing for Single-A Beloit in 2003.

 

Barnwell finished over .300 for the second time in six seasons. He hit .307 while with Ogden in 2001 ? his first professional season.

 

Beginning to end: Four Sounds players spent the entirety of the 2006 season on the active roster ? infielders Brent Abernathy and Jermaine Clark, outfielder Dave Krynzel and reliever Mitch Stetter.

 

Infielder Zach Sorensen was also with the Sounds the entire season, but spent six weeks on the disabled list from April 14 to May 30.

 

Season finales: The Sounds are 4-5 in season finales since joining the Pacific Coast League in 1998.

 

Better than last year: For the season, the Sounds finished with a record of 76-68, topping the 2005 mark of 75-69.

 

First at first: Krynzel made his first career appearance outside of the outfield on Monday when he started at first base.

 

His only miscue at the unfamiliar position was midgame, when he allowed a Joe McEwing grounder to first slip past his glove, giving McEwing time to reach the base.

 

The play was originally ruled an error, but was later changed to a base hit with both managers' consent.

 

And speaking of errors: The Sounds concluded the regular season with a Pacific Coast League-best .982 fielding percentage. It is the highest single-season mark in club history, with the previous best coming in at .981 in 2004.

 

For the year the Sounds committed 100 errors.

[Mass Haas]

FYI -- Nashville playoff rotation:

 

Villanueva

Eveland

Jackson

Lehr (if necessary)

Hendrickson (if necessary)

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.helenair.com/articles...506_02.txt

 

Great Falls cruises past Brewers

By CURT SYNNESS - IR Sports Writer

 

The Helena Brewers fell to the Great Falls White Sox last night, 10-2, at Kindrick Legion Field.

 

The game was played in a surreal atmosphere, due to the smokey, hazey surroundings created by the forest fires from the west.

 

The Brewers, who were eliminated from post season play earlier in the weekend, were outhit 15-8, but managed to keep the game close for six innings.

 

The teams entered the seventh stanza deadlocked at 2-all, before the visitors scored four runs apiece in the seventh and ninth frames to pull away.

 

Several bright spots for the Brewers were pitches from Amaury Rivas, as well as hits from right fielder Chuckie Caufield, catcher Jordan Swaydan and first baseman Chris Errecart.

 

Caufield collected three base-hits in five at bats. The University of Oklahoma alum is associated with some athletic pedigree, as his father, Charles Caufield, played defensive back in the NFL, while his sister, LaNeishia, hooped professionally in the WNBA.

 

Errecart belted his 13th home run, a solo shot, over the left field wall in the second inning, bringing him to within one tater of the Pioneer League lead. He just missed another roundtripper in the ninth.

 

With two men on, Errecart crushed a long drive into the teeth of the wind to straightaway center field, which was caught against the fence. Swayden went 2-for-3.

 

Rivas started on the mound for the Brewers, working six innings and allowing six hits and two runs, leaving the game with the score tied. Brae Wright relieved for one inning, and was stuck with the loss after giving up five hits and four runs.

 

Great Falls starter Logan Williamson also pitched six stanzas, and was credited with the win.

 

He was relieved by Steve Spurgeon, who hurled the final three scorless frames.

 

The White Sox are managed by Bobby Tolan, former big leaguer with Cincinnati, before the Big Red Machine won two World Series in the mid-1970s.

 

The Great Falls offense was spearheaded by John Shelby, Tyler Reves, Mike Grace, Santo Garcia and Kris Welker.

 

Welker, from Missoula, is one of two Montanans on the White Sox roster, along with Columbia Falls' Josh Wells.

 

The Brewers (19-16 in the second half, 34-38 overall) and Great Falls (9-26, 27-46) meet again tonight at Kindrick Legion Field at 7:05 p.m. This will be the last home game of the season for the Brewers.

[Mass Haas]

Monday's Helena KCAP Pre-Game Audio Chat with Cole Gillespie (Select date for September 4th, skip to the 13:00 minute mark) --

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp