Link Report for Wed. 9/5 - Manatees and Power Take Different Routes to Victory

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Wednesday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP R.A. Dickey at New Orleans (Mets) in Game One of a Best-of-Five series, 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime; Game Two will be Thursday afternoon, again in the Big Easy

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: Idle; playoffs begin Thursday night in Huntsville

 

Brevard County: RHP Mike McClendon at home vs. St. Lucie (Mets) in Game Two of a Best-of-Three series, 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime; Mets lead, 1-0; Game Three (if necessary, and it will be!) at home Thursday evening

 

Audio link (game will also archive at this link):

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?cid=503&sid=t503

 

West Virginia: RHP Alex Periard at Hickory (Pirates) in Game One of a Best-of-Three series, 5:15 PM pre-game, 5:30 gametime; Game Two, and if necessary, Game Three, will be Friday and Saturday in Charleston

 

Audio link (game will also archive at this link):

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

 

Helena: RHP Chad Robinson at home vs. Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime; keep in mind Helena's regular season doesn't end until Friday the 7th...

 

Audio link (game will also archive at this link):

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

Arizona: Season complete

[Mass Haas]

Follow Wednesday'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:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_05_nasaaa_nozaaa_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&gid=2007_09_05_sluafa_breafa_1&cid=503&t=g_box

 

West Virginia:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_05_wvaafx_hicafx_1

 

Helena:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_05_misrok_helrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Pioneer League Second Half Standings through Tuesday's action:

 

 Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 25 9 .735 - 14-4 11-5 W6 Helena 19 16 .543 6.5 8-9 11-7 W5 Billings 16 19 .457 9.5 9-7 7-12 L5 Missoula 13 22 .371 12.5 7-12 6-10 L6 

[Mass Haas]

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds 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

[Mass Haas]

The Nashville game in New Orleans is available for viewing via MiLB.TV for a small fee:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/multimedia/video.jsp

[Mass Haas]

Sounds' Dickey wants back in the big leagues

by Mike Organ, Tennessean

R.A. Dickey hasn't given up on making it back to the big leagues.

 

The former Montgomery Bell Academy and Tennessee knuckleballer spent the season with the Nashville Sounds, which was neat for him being back home. He was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year, compiled a 12-6 record, and will be on the mound Wednesday when Nashville begins the playoffs at New Orleans.

 

But the 32-year-old Dickey still longs for another shot in the majors.

 

"I'm not where I want to be - I want to be in the big leagues,'' Dickey said. "It's nice being the pitcher-of-the-year, it's nice having a good year with the Sounds, and it's definitely something that I'm not taking for granted. But at the same time, I'd trade it all in for a chance to compete at the big league level with what I have now."

 

Dickey, realizes, however, that his chance to get back in the majors may not come.

 

"I don't have control over that at this point,'' he said. "I've done everything that I know to do from a performance standpoint to merit an opportunity. I'll do my job (Wednesday) night, that's where I'm at now, and we'll see what happens after that."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://www.dailymail.com/story/Sports/2007090523/Leagues-best-hitting-clubs-meet-in-SAL-playoffs/

 

League's best hitting clubs meet in SAL playoffs

Christopher Wade

For the Charleston Daily Mail

 

It's been a magical season for the West Virginia Power, with several key Charleston South Atlantic League franchise records being broken.

 

Power first baseman Andrew LeFave won the SAL batting title and outfielder Steve Chapman set the single-season franchise home run record.

 

Meanwhile, the team set the franchise team batting average mark, once again set an attendance record, and the Power has returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

 

The Power will be hoping to continue the success tonight when it opens the SAL first round best-of-three playoff series at Hickory.

 

Game 2 is scheduled at Appalachian Power Park on Friday at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central) and Game 3 as well on Saturday night, if necessary.

In the regular season, the Power won 9-of-13 games against the second-half division-winning Crawdads.

 

The Power is 82-54 overall on the season (a 48-20 mark won the first-half title) and enters the playoffs on a three-game winning streak.

 

"The momentum going in makes you feel good but the playoffs are different," Power Manager Mike Guerrero said. "Us and Hickory match up pretty good. It's just going to be whoever plays the best is going to win."

 

LeFave, with his league-leading .346 batting average, also acknowledged his team's success against Hickory this season will mean nothing when the series opens up tonight.

 

"They (the Crawdads) are a whole different ball club now than what they were earlier in the season," LeFave said. "They are hitting the ball as well as we've seen."

 

Hickory comes in with the league's second-best hitting team with a .274 batting average while the Power is first with a .280 average.

 

"Everybody is swinging the bats pretty well and it's good to have a lot of confidence going into the playoffs," Power hitting coach Corey Hart said. "We are solid throughout our lineup and tough outs is what it's all about."

 

That lineup might not include LeFave, however, as he has missed the last five regular season games for the Power with a pulled ligament in his left wrist. His availability for the series is unknown.

 

"He's (LeFave) a big, important part of our team," Guerrero said. "We want him in there but if he's hurting, we won't jeopardize his career."

 

"We'd like to have him (LeFave) in there but we don't know if he will be able to go," Hart said. "We would definitely miss him but we've got guys who can fill in and pick him up."

 

LeFave, who admits hurting, is hoping to try and get back into the lineup and try and help lead the Power to the franchise's second SAL championship (the other came in 1990 with the Wheelers).

 

"It's been bothering me and it hurts to swing," LeFave said. "But I want to go out there and do whatever it takes to help my team win."

 

On the mound for the Power, the Game 1 start tonight goes to right-hander Alex Periard (7-7, 3.55 ERA).

 

"Alex has pitched very well of late and has had a tremendous year," Power pitching coach John Curtis said. "We have a lot of confidence in him and expect him to pitch as he has all year.

 

"He's a solid ground ball pitcher and hopefully that will neutralize their (Hickory) power. Plus he has not pitched against them all year and that advantage always goes to the pitcher."

 

Meanwhile, the 20-year-old Periard is very much looking forward to the opportunity of getting the ball for the first game of the series.

 

"I'm very excited and it's awesome to start game number one," Periard said. "It's an honor and I feel good about it."

 

"It's an advantage they've never seen me all season and hopefully I can pitch well and bring my team home with a win on the board."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/Sports/2007090435

 

High scores in store?

Power, Crawdads put up lots of runs

By Mike Whiteford

Charleston Gazette Staff writer

The slugfests involving the Hickory Crawdads this season are still fresh in Steve Chapman's mind.

 

"Every time we play them,'' said Chapman, "it's like 13-12 and 15-13. We know Hickory can swing the bat.''

 

Chapman, the Power's left fielder who set a franchise record with 24 home runs this season, is pretty much on target in his game-score recollections.

 

The season series, in fact, hit a free-swinging high-water mark on June 12 when the Power hammered out a 24-13 victory over the Crawdads in Hickory. The teams combined for 44 hits on that occasion.

 

The Power also defeated the Crawdads by such scores as 11-6, 16-5, 11-6 and 9-8. Two weeks ago in Hickory, the Crawdads countered with a 12-11 victory.

 

"They're going to score a lot of runs, and we have to score a lot of runs too,'' said Chapman. "If it means getting hit by a pitch or getting walked or hitting a home run, we have to put runs on the board, no matter what it takes. It doesn't matter how good our pitching does, we know they're going to hit the ball.''

 

If the pattern holds, the Power and Crawdads are headed for a lively, entertaining best-of-three Northern Division series as the South Atlantic League playoffs begin tonight at Hickory.

 

West Virginia and Hickory, which won the first- and second-half division titles, respectively, will play the series opener at 6:30 tonight (5:30 Central) at L.P. Frans Stadium and, after an off-day Thursday, play the second and, if necessary, the third game at Appalachian Power Park at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

The high-scoring Power-Crawdad games reflect the teams' overall hitting for the season. West Virginia and Hickory led the 16-team South Atlantic League in hitting with averages of .281 and .275, respectively. The Power finished first in runs with 804, and Crawdads were fifth with 745.

 

"Our plan for the playoffs, especially against Hickory,'' said Chapman, "is that we have to swing the bats.''

 

And both teams enter the postseason with momentum - the Power having won six of its final eight and the Crawdads their final seven games for a 43-26 second-half record.

 

"Momentum gives you confidence going into a short series,'' said Power manager Mike Guerrero, "but you have to execute and be fundamentally sound and hopefully everything goes your way.''

 

Pitching for the Power tonight will be right-hander Alex Periard, who's 7-7 with an ERA of 3.55, which ranked 11th in the league. In his last two full outings, he surrendered just two earned runs in 12 2/3 innings, although he was hit hard in his two previous appearances. He pitched a two-inning stint on Friday in preparation for the playoffs.

 

"I try to throw down in the zone, first of all,'' said Periard, a 20-year-old native of St. Eustache, Quebec. "If every pitch you throw is belt-high, you're going to get hit hard, no matter what. And I try to work in and out and change speeds a lot. That's pretty much my game plan.''

 

The Hickory starter will be right-hander Michael Crotta, who is 10-5 with a 4.39 ERA and has gone 8-0 since the All-Star break. He hasn't lost since June 11. Crotta, however, yielded 12 hits and eight runs in four innings against the Power Aug. 24.

 

POWER POINTS: The Power worked out Tuesday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park, taking batting and infield practice before boarding a bus for Hickory. ... A South Atlantic League playoff series against Hickory holds local significance. On Sept. 10, 2004, the Crawdads defeated the Charleston Alley Cats 7-3 to complete a series sweep in what was the last professional game played at Watt Powell Park. Hickory won the league championship that year and also won the title in 2002. ... The Charleston franchise has not won the SAL championship since 1990. ... The Power defeated the Crawdads in nine of 13 games this season. The Power batted .334 in those games, and the Crawdads hit .307. ... The Northern and Southern division winners will meet in a best-of-five series scheduled for Sept. 10-11 and 13-15.

 

Charleston Gazette Photographer: Lawrence Pierce

Power players prepare for their run through the South Atlantic League playoffs with some running in the outfield at Appalachian Power Park Tuesday afternoon.

 

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/POWRP3.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Huge, huge night for the Power -- Taylor Green just a triple shy of the cycle, only in the 6th as West Virginia's up 11-2. If Green isn't the Organizational Player of the Year, there should be a recount. Brent Brewer also 3-for-3.

 

Things not so bright for Brevard, down 6-2 after six.

 

Sounds lead, 2-1, early.

[biedergb]

Errecart with a 3-run HR to pull 'Tees within 1 after 6. Yaz beat me to it: 'Tees win 7-6.

 

LaPorta with an outfield assist at home. Periard 7 strong innings so far. Now Final, 12-2. 17 hits for the Power (including 3-4 efforts from Green & Brewer).

 

Let's go Sounds, 2-2 now in the 8th.

[Yaz]

Lorenzo Cain with a RBI HBP. Sweet. 6-6 in the bottom of the 9th - Bases still loaded.

 

Update: Gamel with game winning walk-off single - Manatee's Win 7-6.

 

Please note that the Nashville game is viewable right now for FREE!

[Mass Haas]

It is very cool that MLB.TV and MiLB.TV use separate media players. I've got dueling video going on right now, sweet! 2-2 in the Sounds game, Nashville challenging in the top of the 9th...

 

And what a win for the 'Tees! We'll link to the winning 9th inning archived audio in a bit.

[Mass Haas]

Final: New Orleans (Mets) 3, Nashville 2

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for R. A. Dickey photo, text follows --

 

http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/news.asp?newsId=2550

9th-Inning Run Dooms Sounds In Playoff Opener

 

METAIRIE, La. - Robinson Cancel drilled a two-out RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the host New Orleans Zephyrs a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Wednesday evening at Zephyr Field in Game One of the PCL American Conference Finals.

 

With the win, the Zephyrs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series and handed the Sounds' their 29th one-run loss of the year, a total that leads the league.

 

In the decisive frame, David Newhan drew a one-out walk from Sounds reliever Kenny Ray then later stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before walking home on Cancel's game-winner.

 

The loss was even more heartbreaking for the Sounds because the club left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth.

 

New Orleans grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against PCL Pitcher-of-the-Year R.A. Dickey.

 

Anderson Hernandez drew a game-opening walk and moved to third on a Fernando Tatis single, then the infielder scored when a Carlos Gomez popup landed just out of the reach of Sounds shortstop Chris Barnwell in short left-center. Barnwell recovered to force Tatis at second on the play. David Newhan doubled the lead to 2-0 later in the frame when he plated Gomez with a two-out RBI single to right.

 

Dickey helped his own cause in the top of the second with a two-out RBI single to right-center that drove in Barnwell, who had drawn a two-out walk from ex-Sound Dave Williams.

 

The Sounds tied the contest at 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning on Jose Macias' perfectly-executed suicide squeeze bunt that plated a sprinting J.R. Hopf from third. Hopf and pinch-hitter Charles Thomas had opened the frame with consecutive singles against Zephyrs reliever Jon Adkins before being moved up a base on a Callix Crabbe sacrifice.

 

(Fantastic job by announcer Chuck Valenches here, calling the squeeze moments before it's executed -- oh, nice job, Macias, too...)

AUDIO: Jose Macias Suicide Squeeze

 

Nashville missed a huge opportunity to take its first lead of the night in the top of the ninth inning when they loaded the bases with one out and failed to cash in. Z's reliever Ivan Maldonado induced a popout from Hopf before striking out pinch-hitter Ozzie Chavez to escape the threat unscathed. The Sounds had finished the regular season with a .355 batting average with the sacks full, the second-best mark in the PCL.

 

Maldonado (1-0) was the beneficiary of the late heroics, earning the win after escaping the jam in the top of the ninth.

 

Ray (0-1) took the loss after surrendering the game-winner in his two-thirds of an inning.

 

Both starters turned in solid performances, but each left with a no-decision to his credit.

 

Williams, an All-Star for the Sounds in 2004, turned in an outstanding start against his former club, allowing one run on three hits over 6 1/3 frames of action. He walked one batter and struck out six in his 93-pitch outing.

 

Dickey allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings for the Sounds. The knuckleballer walked three batters and fanned six while tossing 109 pitches in his 15th quality start of the year.

 

The Sounds will look to even the series when the teams play a 1 p.m. matinee in Game Two on Thursday afternoon. Left-hander Adam Pettyjohn (12-4, 3.87) will start for Nashville to face New Orleans southpaw Jason Vargas (9-7, 4.97).

 

Nashville Box Score:

Tony Gwynn ejected in the 6th after getting called out on strikes; although catcher J.R. Hopf popped out with the bases loaded and one out in the 9th, which hurts, he was asked to catch knuckleballer R.A. Dickey for the first time, and did so cleanly, so kudos to him regardless...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_05_nasaaa_nozaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_05_nasaaa_nozaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas:

http://www.nashvillesounds.com/audio/2007/Interview%209-5.mp3

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 12, Hickory (Pirates) 2

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER OFFENSE ERUPTS IN HICKORY

 

Alex Periard tossed seven solid innings and West Virginia's offense scored 12 runs on 17 hits to take the first game in the best of three series against the Crawdads with a 12-2 victory at L.P. Frans Stadium on Wednesday night.

 

Taylor Green drove in four of West Virginia's twelve, and drove in his first with a solo home run to begin the second inning. Hickory tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Kent Sakamoto hit a ground ball to John Alonso at first base with Jonel Pacheco on third. Alonso's throw beat Pacheco to the plate but Andy Bouchie couldn't hang on to the ball allowing the run to score. Brent Brewer began the third inning with a double and scored later in the frame on Chuckie Caufield's sacrifice fly to give the Power a 2-1 lead. Hickory tied the game in the fourth inning on Bobby Kingsbury's solo home run, but they were kept off the board the rest of the way.

 

The Power sent nine batters to the plate and scored five times in the fifth. Brewer began the inning with a single and scored on Charlie Fermaint's two-run homer. Matt LaPorta's RBI double knocked Hickory's starting pitcher Mike Crotta out of the game. Green followed LaPorta's double with a double of his own which produced a pair of runs. The Power sent nine to the plate again in the sixth inning and scored four more times. Green and Kenny Holmberg both plated runs with sacrifice flies before Alonso and Steve Chapman smacked back-to-back two-out RBI singles. West Virginia tacked on one more run in the eighth inning when LaPorta scored on Alonso's groundout.

 

Periard (1-0) tossed seven innings for the second time this season. He allowed a pair of runs, only one earned, on seven hits and struck out two to get the win while Crotta (0-1) allowed seven runs on ten hits over four innings and was tagged with the loss. D.J. Lidyard tossed a pair of scoreless frames for the Power.

 

West Virginia takes a 1-0 lead in the series. The victory is their first in the post season this decade. They are now one win away from playing for the franchise's second South Atlantic League title.

 

The Power will continue the first round of the playoffs at Appalachian Power Park against the Hickory Crawdads on Friday night. Right hander Shawn Ferguson (5-1, 3.08) will start for the Power and the Crawdads will counter with right hander Matt McSwain (3-2, 5.59). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

94 degrees at game time; the lower levels go to a four-man umpiring staff for the playoffs...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_05_wvaafx_hicafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_05_wvaafx_hicafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 7, St. Lucie (Mets) 6

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/SPORTS/709060328/1002/SPORTS

 

Wow! Manatees' rally ties it up

Brevard County storms back from 6-1 deficit

BY MARK DeCOTIS

FLORIDA TODAY

The Brevard County Manatees rallied from five runs down to the St. Lucie Mets on Wednesday night with a stirring ninth-inning comeback to even their Florida State League divisional playoff series at a game apiece with a 7-6 victory.

 

The triumph before a noisy, enthusiastic gathering of about 2,500 at Space Coast Stadium forced the deciding game at 7:00 PM tonight (6:00 Central) on Stadium Parkway.

 

Left-hander Brae Wright gets the start for the Manatees.

 

"He's been throwing pretty good and just feels like he can be competitive against these guys," Manatee manager John Tamargo said.

 

"And if he pitches the way he can pitch, we're going to be OK."

 

Things didn't look good early for the Manatees but they persevered and performed when it mattered.

 

Manatee third baseman Mat Gamel hit a soft liner to center with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth for the victory after the Manatees trailed 6-1 midway through the proceedings.

 

"I felt a lot better that at-bat then I felt the whole night," Gamel said.

 

"I knew the guy (had) fastball, slider and that the slider was going to break back in the zone. I was worried middle away. He wasn't going to beat me inside. I just tried to nibble, nibble, nibble until I could get something I could handle to hit well enough to score a run."

 

Handcuffed on only four hits in Tuesday's 8-0 playoff-opening loss at St. Lucie, the Manatees appeared ready to immediately make amends, loading the bases off Mets starter Deolis Guerra in the bottom of the first with one out. Lorenzo Cain singled and Gamel followed with a double to the right-field corner. Mike Bell was then hit by a pitch, but Cole Gillespie grounded sharply into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

 

Trailing 1-0, the Manatees finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth when Gamel reached on an error and stole second, and Gillespie walked. Chris Errecart then flied to left for the second out but St. Lucie shortstop Emmanuel Garcia threw wildly trying to get Gillespie at second. Gamel scored on the error as the ball caromed into right field. Gillespie was thrown out trying to score but the Manatees were on the board.

 

But they immediately found themselves in a jam in the top of the fifth after Hector Pellot singled and moved to third on a throwing error by Manatee first baseman Errecart. Pellot was plated by Nick Evans' second double of the night, two more runs scored on singles by Daniel Murphy and Sean McGraw -- who advanced to third as Murphy beat the throw home -- and before the dust settled, it was 5-1 and Manatee starter Mike McClendon was done for the evening.

 

Victor Mendez greeted Manatee reliever Rusty Tucker with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center, scoring McGraw to make it 6-1.

The Mets also cashed in on their first opportunity in the top of the second with three base hits off McClendon including the one by Ender Chavez to left that plated Murphy with the game's first run.

 

The Manatees threatened again with one out in the bottom of the fifth on singles by Ned Yost and Nestor Corredor but Darren Ford flied to right and Cain hit into a force play to end the insurrection.

 

Undaunted, the Manatees rallied in the sixth. Gamel beat out a roller to third and Bell doubled to the wall in right center to score Gamel, chasing Guerra in the process. Gillespie followed with his second walk and things looked promising.

 

Errecart then made the promise reality, depositing a 1-2 pitch from reliever Kevin Tomasiewicz onto the left field berm to make it 6-5.

 

The Mets stirred things up in the seventh as Ambiorix Concepcion walked and Murphy was given a free pass with one out. Kevin Roberts relieved Travis Wendte. Roberts whiffed McGraw and Mendez skied out to center, keeping the Manatees close.

 

The Mets put two men aboard with two outs in the top of the ninth. Nick Evans doubled for the third time and Murphy was given his second intentional walk. But McGraw went down swinging setting up the dramatic home half of the ninth with the Manatees three outs away from heading home or returning tonight for the rubber game of the series.

 

With rock music blaring and the crowd as loud as it had been all night, the Manatees sent the bottom third of the order to the plate.

 

Yohannis Perez singled to center on a 3-1 pitch, Yost bunted to the pitcher Joe Hietpas who threw wildly to first for the Mets' third error of the night and the Manatees were in business with runners at second and third with no one out.

 

Corredor grounded out to second with the runners holding and Ford was intentionally walked to load the bases, creating a double-play opportunity.

 

It then fell to Cain who had a single in four previous trips. Instead of hitting he got nicked on the jersey by a 1-2 pitch and the game was tied as Perez scored.

 

Hietpas was excused in favor of Jose De La Torre who was greeted by Gamel, who singled to center on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to end things in Brevard County's favor.

 

Around the bases

The Manatees won the inaugural "Battle of I-95 Trophy" by virtue of capturing the season series with the Daytona Beach Cubs 11 games to seven. The trophy was presented to Manatees skipper John Tamargo before Wednesday night's game.

 

Heading into Wednesday night, the Manatees were 19-14 at Space Coast Stadium in the season's second half. They were 24-11 at home in the first half.

 

The Manatees finished 41-28 to win the first half by 5 1/2 games but scuffled in the second half, finishing third with a 33-34 mark, three games behind Port St. Lucie. The Mets finished 37-32. The Mets finished the first half 31-39, tied for fifth, 10 1/2 games out.

 

Brevard County Box Score:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&gid=2007_09_05_sluafa_breafa_1&cid=503&t=g_box

 

Brevard County Game Log:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_05_sluafa_breafa_1

 

Florida Today Photo of Mike McClendon

http://cmsimg.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Avis=A9&Dato=20070906&Kategori=SPORTS&Lopenr=709060328&Ref=AR&MaxW=257&border=0

[Mass Haas]

Here's the 9th inning rally:

 

Brevard County Bottom 9th

• - Yohannis Perez singles on a line drive to center fielder Ambiorix Concepcion.
• - Ned Yost singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Joe Hietpas. Ned Yost to 2nd. Yohannis Perez advances to 3rd, on throwing error by pitcher Joe Hietpas.
• - Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Freddy Parejo replaces Ned Yost.
• - Nestor Corredor grounds out, second baseman Hector Pellot to first baseman Nick Evans.
• - Joe Hietpas intentionally walks Darren Ford.
• - Lorenzo Cain hit by pitch. Yohannis Perez scores. Freddy Parejo to 3rd. Darren Ford to 2nd.
• - Pitcher Change: Jose De La Torre replaces Joe Hietpas.
• - Mat Gamel singles on a line drive to center fielder Ambiorix Concepcion. Freddy Parejo scores. Darren Ford to 3rd. Lorenzo Cain to 2nd.

Listen to the September 5th audio of the winning rally beginning at the 3 hour, 4 minute mark -- the winning run scores 16 minutes later at 3 hours, 20 minutes, nice job play-by-play man Kirk Agius -- post-game interviews with Mat Gamel and John Tamargo as well...

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?cid=503&sid=t503

[Mass Haas]

More in a little bit, including details of Helena's 7-3 regular season win...

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://www.dailymail.com/story/Sports/+/2007090624/Power+breaks+out+the+bats/

 

Power breaks out the bats

Gary Olinger

Hickory Daily Record

 

HICKORY, N.C. -- The West Virginia Power, the South Atlantic League's best-hitting team during the regular season, put up some more outstanding numbers in its playoff opener.

The Power batted around in the fifth and sixth innings and beat the Hickory Crawdads 12-2 Wednesday night at L.P. Frans Stadium to take the lead in a best-of-three Northern Division championship series.

Game 2 is scheduled Friday at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central) at Appalachian Power Park, with Shawn Ferguson (5-1) going to the mound for West Virginia against Matt McSwain (3-2) of the Crawdads in a matchup of right-handers.

Game 3, if necessary, will be played Saturday evening at Power Park.

The Power, which led the SAL in team batting and runs, racked up 15 hits in the first six innings and finished with 17 hits, including home runs by Taylor Green and Charlie Fermaint.

"We don't look at stats too much," said Green, who led off the second inning with his homer and added a two-run double in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the sixth. "We're aware we're No. 1 and they're right behind us.

"They're a great-hitting team and we're a great-hitting team, too."

The Crawdads, who ranked second in the SAL in batting, were held to seven hits by Alex Periard and D.J. Lidyard, who pitched two innings of hitless relief.

Periard, who had the league's 10th-best ERA, went seven innings to get the win in his first appearance against the Crawdads.

"My main goal was changing speeds," he said. "They've got a couple good hitters.

"Working low in the zone was pretty much my game plan."

Left fielder Matt LaPorta backed Periard by making a diving catch of Jim Negrych's liner in the first inning and threw out Kent Sakamoto, who tried to score from second on Eddie Prasch's two-out single in the fourth.

"The defense tonight was tremendous," Periard said. "We also put a lot of runs on the board, so it was awesome."

The Power took the lead for good by scoring five runs in the top of the fifth inning, after Bobby Kingsbury tied the game 2-2 with a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth.

Fermaint's homer, after a single by Brent Brewer, was one of six hits by the Power's first six batters in the fifth.

The Power, aided by Sakamoto's fielding error on a grounder to first by LaPorta, added four runs in the sixth, increasing their lead to 11-2.

Green and Brewer each finished with three hits and each player in the Power's lineup had at least one.

"We know those guys can hit,'' Hickory Manager Gary Green said. "You've got to make good pitches against those guys. They have a very good offensive team."

The Power scored its first seven runs off Hickory starter Mike Crotta, who didn't retire any of the five batters he faced in the fifth.

Crotta, who went 8-0 in the second half, lost for the first time since June 11, when the Power beat him 2-1 at L.P. Frans Stadium.

"His ball was up in the zone," Green said. "Not many guys can pitch in the area he did tonight. This game revolves around the guy on the mound. You have to pitch well, especially in a short series."

The Power's Andrew Lefave, SAL batting champion, remained sidelined due to a wrist injury.

The team had plenty of hitting without him.

Columbus takes lead --The SAL Southern Division playoff opener between Georgia clubs also was a rout. Columbus rocked visiting Augusta 11-2 in a pitching matchup between the league's co-leader in wins and the top ERA hurler.

Heath Rollins, a 17-game winner, shut down the Greenjackets, while the second-half pennant-winning Catfish got to league ERA leader (1.86) Kevin Pucetas, who was 15-4 this season. Pucetas allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Matthew Fields, Quinn Stewart and Nevin Ashley homered for Columbus. The series moves to Augusta for Game 2 on Friday night.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 7, Missoula (Diamondbacks) 3

 

Helena Site Game Summary:

Brewers Win Sixth Straight

 

The Helena Brewers won their sixth straight Wednesday, as they downed the Osprey of Missoula 7-3. Led by Lee Haydel's near-cycle (he was a home run short), and two bombs by Jonathon Lucroy and Steffan Wilson, the Brewers got ahead early and never looked back.

 

In the first inning alone, they scored three runs, and then tacking on another the next inning to take a commanding lead. Missoula managed to make a slight rally in the fourth, scoring two to cut the lead in half, but in the bottom half, Lucroy decided that he wanted the Brewers to have three more runs, so he hit a three-run homer to keep a solid lead. Jose Garcia got the start for Helena, and pitched well, going five innings, giving up only two hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts. The Brewers only gave up three hits the whole game. Brett Reynolds of Missoula got knocked around, resulting in the loss. In three innings pitched, he gave up 11 hits for seven earned runs.

 

The two teams will face off again for the second game of a three game series at Helena's Kindrick Field at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central).

 

Helena Box Score:

Missoula turned four double plays; Jose Garcia's line looks good, but he did throw four wild pitches...

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_05_misrok_helrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_05_misrok_helrok_1