Link Report Mon. 4/23 - Latest includes Chuckie Caufield

[Mass Haas]

MiLB's home page has a nice photo of Stephen Chapman Monday night, and an audio link to Bull Barch's calls of the "back-to-back jack-jackey-jacks":

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 7, Vero Beach (Devil Rays) 1

 

Brevard County Box Score:

Two hits for Lorenzo Cain; Carlos Corporan DH'ing when not catching -- sure, why not? Combined two-hitter with nine K's...

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503

 

Brevard County Game Log:

 

web.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 5, Iowa (Cubs) 1

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Chris Oxspring photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2278

 

Oxspring Tosses Gem, Sounds Win 6th In A Row

 

NASHVILLE ? Chris Oxspring turned in an outstanding outing, allowing one hit over seven scoreless innings, and Ryan Braun went 3-for-4 including his league-leading seventh home run of the year to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 5-1 victory over the division-rival Iowa Cubs on Monday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

The victory extended Nashville?s winning streak to a season-best six games. The red-hot Sounds (12-6), who hold a three-game lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division over the I-Cubs, have won 11 of their last 13 games.

 

Oxspring (2-1) dropped his ERA to 1.61 through four starts on the year as he recorded a win for the second straight outing. The Aussie allowed only two runners to reach second over his seven frames. He walked four batters and struck out six in his 103-pitch outing.

 

Braun continued his assault on opposing pitching, finishing a triple short of the cycle. The third baseman has ripped 15 of his 21 knocks on the year for extra bases.

 

Vinny Rottino (3-for-4), who has seven hits in his last 10 at-bats, produced his third consecutive multiple-hit effort to extend his hit streak to a season-best three games.

 

Braun staked the Sounds to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a one-out RBI double down the left field line off Iowa starter Les Walrond that plated Chris Barnwell.

 

Jose Macias upped the Nashville lead to 3-0 in the second with a two-out, two-run single up the middle that brought home Rottino and Callix Crabbe. The knock extended the outfielder?s hitting streak to six games, tying for second-longest by a Sound in 2007.

 

Braun showed off his firepower again in the third when he belted a leadoff solo homer to left-center that careened off the guitar-shaped scoreboard. The blast, off Walrond, was his seventh roundtripper of the season, tying him for the minor-league lead with Joe Mather of Double-A Springfield (Cardinals).

 

AUDIO: Ryan Braun's Guitar Shot HR --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...4-23-1.mp3

 

The Cubs scratched across an unearned run in the top of the eighth inning against Sounds reliever Jose Capellan for their lone tally of the evening. Eric Patterson drew a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Rottino, and scored on a Mike Fontenot.

 

Nashville answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the frame. Rottino led off with a triple off the wall in left-center and scored a batter later on a Crabbe sacrifice fly, bringing the score to its final 5-1.

 

Walrond (2-1) took his first loss of the year after allowed four runs on nine hits over his six frames of action.

 

The teams wrap up the four-game series with a 10:30 a.m. morning contest on Tuesday that will feature an outstanding pitching matchup. Right-hander Yovani Gallardo (2-1, 2.65), the Milwaukee Brewers? top prospect, will man the bump for Nashville to face Iowa right-hander Carlos Marmol (2-0, 1.65). The hurlers rank second and third, respectively, in the Pacific Coast League with 26 and 24 strikeouts.

 

The game will feature a crowd filled with over 8,000 area schoolchildren in attendance as part of the successful Nashville Sounds Reading Club program. All program participants who have met their reading goals receive a free ticket to the game and will be recognized for their accomplishments during a pre-game, on-field parade.

 

Nashville Box Score:

Vinny Rottino with a 1.033 OPS, Ryan Braun 1.175...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

[pogokat]

Quote:

---

Vinny Rottino with a 1.033 OPS, Ryan Braun 1.175...

---

 

amazingly, vinny just collected his first non hr extra base hits of the season...

 

whats in the water lately?

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 10, Montgomery 3

Another perfect day for the organization!

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1121

 

Sixth Inning Surge Sends Stars to Victory

 

Huntsville strung together six hits, two walks, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly in the midst of a decisive six-run sixth inning rally en route to a 10-3 triumph over Montgomery Monday night in the middle game of a five-game series at Riverwalk Stadium. The Stars have won two straight to even their season record at 8-8 and pull to within one game of North Division-leading Tennessee, which fell at home to Mobile, while the Biscuits dropped to 9-9 and fell four games behind front-running Mississippi in the South after the Braves third straight win over Birmingham.

 

Brendan Katin led off the fourth inning with a double, moved to third base on a Lou Palmisano single and scored the game?s first run on a Mike Carlin sacrifice fly, his second since joining the team last week. Katin?s sacrifice fly in the fifth gave the Stars a 2-0 lead before Steve Sollmann swiped home as part of a double steal with Steve Moss to increase the visitors lead to 3-0. It was the Stars? second double steal involving a steal of home on the road this season.

 

Adam Pettyjohn threw four hitless, scoreless innings and needed only 30 pitches to get through four frames before running into trouble in the fifth. The Biscuits put together six singles, including a Fernando Perez liner off of the southpaw?s hip to tally three times to get the game tied. Jason Pridie and Josh Asanovich each knocked in their second runs of the season with bases loaded singles and Perez?s line drive hit capped the rally. Pettyjohn was lifted after the five frames and earned his second win after recording one strikeout.

 

Montgomery starter James Houser was replaced after five innings and Jarod Matthews lasted only four batters in relief, as he was lifted after allowing a single and issuing two walks to load the bases. Jeremy Flanagan took over and hit Sollmann to force in Carlin with the go-ahead run. Adam Heether and Moss knocked in runs with a single, Katin added another sacrifice fly and Palmisano and Jeff Eure capped the Stars? biggest scoring inning of the season with run-scoring singles. The Stars pounded out a season-high 15 hits and matched their largest scoring output of the year in picking up their fourth win in six road games.

 

Robert Hinton tossed two scoreless innings and Corey Thurman and Grant Balfour each worked a shutout inning in relief to preserve the seven-run victory. Hinton has yet to allow a run in 8 1/3 innings and has yielded only two hits.

 

The series in Montgomery continues Tuesday morning with southpaw Steve Hammond taking the hill against Biscuits? right-hander Chris Mason. Coverage of the game begins at 10:20 a.m. central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Sweet looking box score, what a great day up and down the system today...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp

 

Manatees starter Lluberes X's Rays

By Chip Haunss / Special to MLB.com

 

Rafael Lluberes tossed six innings of one-hit ball to lead host Brevard County past Vero Beach, 7-1, on Monday.

Lluberes was dominant, striking out eight and walking four before he was replaced at the start of the seventh inning. The 6-foot-4 left-hander retired the first seven batters he faced before issuing a one-out walk to Christopher Cunningham. He yielded his only hit to Hunter Vick leading off the fourth.

 

Lluberes attributed his success to mixing speeds and changing locations.

 

"I tried to make my pitches ... throwing a fastball in and a changeup away and it worked for me," the 22-year-old said. Lluberes added he felt good warming up in the bullpen and was able to bring that to the mound with him. He only struck out five in his first three games of the season, so his success Monday against the Devil Rays surprised him.

 

"I am a pitcher that changes speeds and makes [the opponent] hit the ball, but they were missing my pitches," he said.

 

The Manatees jumped out to an early lead with a four-run first behind Cole Gillespie's two-run double and Carlos Corporan's two-RBI single.

 

Corporan finished the game 2-for-4 and Mat Gamel drove in a run and scored once for Brevard County (8-8).

 

Vero Beach starter Jacob McGee (1-1) was charged with four runs -- three earned -- on six hits over four innings. He walked three and struck out one.

 

Christian Lopez had the Devil Rays' only other hit and Cunningham drove in the only run for Vero Beach (7-9), which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

 

Rafael Lluberes struck out five in his previous three games, but fanned eight Monday. (Photo Courtesy of the Brevard County Manatees)

 

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/04/23/dYNJWBwU.jpg

[Team Canada]

There's some serious mojo around the Brewers organization this year. Undefeated nights are happening with alarming regularity.

[And That]

If you're an opposing batter, Robert Hinton owns you.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2007042332

 

Power keeps a-rollin'

Caufield plays big part in 16-5 rout

By Mitch Vingle

Charleston Gazette Sports Editor

 

Unlike at Watt Powell Park, baseball fans won?t see a train rolling behind the West Virginia Power?s field. A UPS truck, maybe, but not a train.

 

Too bad. Because a train would be symbolic these days. With a 16-5 victory over the Hickory Crawdads on Monday, the Power kept a-rollin? to its 10th straight victory and moved to 12-3. It is in first place in the South Atlantic League?s Northern Division.

 

?We have pretty good athletes out there,?? said Power manager Mike Guerrero. ?They are pretty sound.??

 

If you look at the West Virginia roster, you?ll see quite a mix. Shortstop Brent Brewer, who went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, was drafted in the second round of the 2006 Major League draft. Cleanup hitter John Alonso, who also went 2-for-5, was taken in the 12th round of the 2005 draft. Leadoff hitter Darren Ford, he of world class speed, was taken in the 18th round of the 2004 draft.

 

But Chuck Caufield, the team?s No. 3 hitter, might best represent this edition of the Power. He wasn?t drafted until the 39th round of the most recent draft, yet went 3-for-6 on Monday?s Grand Slam School Day with three runs scored and two runs batted in.

 

?We?re just trying to play relaxed and we?re having fun,?? Caufield said with a smile.

 

It?s not like Caufield was an unknown. He played two years at Oklahoma and batted .315 and .357. But his tools across the board weren?t up to big league standards. Still, he worked. He?s gotten faster. And after Monday?s game, he?s batting .304.

 

?I always believed in myself,?? he said. ?My grandmother always told me you can do all things with Christ to strengthen you. So I try to keep a positive mindset. Whatever happens, I try to make the best of it.??

 

He admits, however, being upset with his draft status.

 

?Kind of,?? Caufield said. ?I was having a pretty good [senior] season. But I tried to take the positive [approach]. A lot of people would love to be in my situation ? to play professional ball.??

 

Caufield said his senior season with the Sooners ?might have set the tone and allowed me to play today.??

 

That and a solid work ethic.

 

?That?s one thing I?ve always had ? a good work ethic,?? said the right fielder. ?I have the mentality that I?m going to outwork everybody. I?m going to try and be successful.??

 

On Monday, the Power was successful for many reasons. The team took advantage of six Crawdad errors (four on Hickory third baseman Jared Keel alone). The hosts were able to rally from a 4-1 deficit after two innings. They pounded out 18 hits on 44 at-bats (.409). In the seventh, left fielder Steve Chapman and catcher Martin Maldonado hit back-to-back homers. Designated hitter Michael Brantley went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Also, Travis Wendte relieved starter Brae Wright to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings and pick up his first victory of the season.

 

?We have a great group of guys,?? Caufield said. ?We pull together. We enjoy playing together. We just go hard and it gives us a chance to win.??

 

?You can?t look at these guys on paper,?? Guerrero said. ?We?ve got pretty good athletes. The development has been good and we?ve got some good momentum.

 

?We?re playing pretty good baseball right now. That?s what we train for.??

 

And the Power?s train continues to roll.

 

POWER BITS: The Power drew just 2,627, despite the School Day promotion and fine weather. That brings West Virginia?s season total home attendance to 28,513 in 11 home dates for an average of 2,592, which ranked 10th in the 16-team South Atlantic League ... The Power will again host Hickory, now 7-8, at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central) today.

 

Charleston Gazette Photographer: Chris Dorst

Power second baseman Kenny Holmberg throws to first base on a grounder by Hickory?s Wanell Macia.

 

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

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=55822

 

Braun belts homer, leads Sounds to win

By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent

 

Attention Nashville baseball fans, catch Ryan Braun at Greer Stadium while you can.

 

With Milwaukee Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash in attendance, Braun hit his seventh homer of the season and drove in two runs as the Sounds downed Iowa 5-1 at Greer on Tuesday.

 

Braun hit a solo home run in the third inning, his Pacific Coast League-leading seventh of the year. He also doubled and stole a base.

 

Braun?s gaudy day at the plate helped the Sounds (12-6) win their sixth game in a row.

 

?I?m still not quite where I want to be, but I?m getting closer,? Braun said. ?I?m just trying to get some consistency in my approach.?

 

Braun?s homer smacked off the guitar scoreboard in left field, earning him a Copley guitar. Every Nashville player who hits a guitar off the scoreboard wins a guitar. It?s the second time this season Braun has hit a scoreboard-shot.

 

?I?m going to start giving them away,? Braun said.

 

At this rate, Braun doesn?t figure to be in Music City very long. Ash watched firsthand as the Brewers? top prospect continued what he does best ? collect extra-base hits. Of Braun?s 21 hits this year, 15 have been for extra bases.

 

His power numbers have come in conjunction with the Brewers? third base platoon of Craig Counsell and Tony Graffanino ? both journeymen ? struggling at the plate. Heading into Monday, Counsell was hitting .222 while Graffanino had a .206 average. Neither player has hit a home run this season.

 

?[A promotion to Milwaukee] is something that?s always in the back of my mind, because ultimately the goal is to get to the big leagues and everything I do is about continuing to work hard to get there,? Braun said. ?I know that?s out of my hands. All I can do is continue to work hard every day.?

 

As he often does, Braun got the scoring started for the Sounds. He doubled down the left field line, scoring Chris Barnwell in the bottom of the first.

 

The Sounds added two more runs in the second. That?s when Jose Macias hit a two-run single, which plated Vinny Rottino and Callix Crabbe.

 

?It?s just great to have the team playing so well,? Braun said. ?I know if I don?t come through, someone else will. And it all starts with pitching.?

 

While Braun led the way at the plate, starter Chris Oxspring turned in another starring performance on the mound. Oxspring allowed just one hit over seven shutout innings for the Sounds to lower his ERA to 1.61 on the season.

 

Embattled Sounds reliever Jose Capellan, who is demanding to be traded by the Brewers, spelled Oxspring in the eighth. Capellan allowed an unearned run that came thanks to a throwing error on Rottino, the catcher.

 

Rottino also had a memorable day at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with two runs.

 

Nashville hosts Iowa (9-9) at 10:30 a.m. today to close out the series.

[Mass Haas]

Link for Vinny Rottino photo while active, text follows:

 

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

 

More solid pitching helps Sounds win again

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Making his longest appearance of the season, Nashville Sounds starter Chris Oxspring threw seven shutout innings Monday night in a 4-1 win over Iowa at Greer Stadium.

 

Oxspring (2-1) shaved his earned run average down to 1.61 with the one-hit outing. He won his second consecutive start after opening the season with a loss and a no-decision in back-to-back matchups against New Orleans.

 

"I wanted to go deep in the game," Oxspring said after working less than six innings in each of his first three starts. "We've been throwing well as a team, and I just wanted to keep the trend going."

 

Nashville won its sixth in a row and the 11th in 13 contests after a 1-4 start. The six-game win streak is the longest of the season for the Sounds and matches the longest of last year.

 

"The biggest thing is we've started to hit the ball better," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said after his team pounded out 11 hits ? four for extra bases ? against three Iowa pitchers. "Our pitching has been good from the beginning, and when we've not swung the bats, our pitching has held it close."

 

The Sounds scored in each of their first three at-bats against Cubs starter Les Walrond. Ryan Braun drove in a pair of runs on a first-inning double and a third-inning solo homer (PCL-leading seventh) and Jose Macias plated two with his two-run base hit in the second.

 

Oxspring worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and allowed only three more baserunners over his final five innings ? none of which got past first base.

 

"His fastball command was the biggest thing," Kremblas said. "He was able to throw the fastball the first time through to get ahead or make them put it in play, which made his offspeed pitches more effective."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Brewers defend moves

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

As much as it may appear that the recent reliever swap between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Nashville Sounds was aimed at teaching Jose Capellan a lesson, one Brewers official insisted otherwise.

 

"It's been written that it was punitive, but that clearly wasn't the case," Gord Ash, the major league team's assistant general manager, said prior to the Sounds' game Monday against visiting Iowa.

 

Capellan was the Brewers' final cut coming out of spring training and arrived in Nashville disgruntled and requesting a trade, then left the Sounds for a couple of days last week ? a move that resulted in his being placed on the minor league team's restricted list.

 

When the decision was made Saturday to option Greg Aquino, who was kept over Capellan at the outset of the season, the Brewers purchased Chris Spurling's contract rather than calling up Capellan.

 

The two had similar numbers: Capellan was unscored upon in six appearances with a save and eight strikeouts in 7+ innings; Spurling was 1-0 with a 1.86 earned run average in six appearances with three strikeouts in 9+ innings.

 

"The reports we'd gotten from the scouts and (the Sounds coaching staff) were that Spurling was throwing better," said Ash, who was in attendance for Monday's game. "Everybody's reports had Spurling ahead of him."

 

Ash did say that Capellan going AWOL "didn't help."

 

Capellan, who allowed his first run of the season ? an unearned run ? in Monday's two-inning relief stint, has declined interview requests since joining the Sounds at the start of the season.

 

Guitar man: Ryan Braun's home run off the guitar-shaped scoreboard to lead off the third inning will earn the Nashville third baseman his second Copley guitar of the season. The blast, which extended the Sounds' lead to 4-0, was his seventh of the year ? tying him with Joe Mather of Double-A Springfield (Cardinals) for the minor league lead.

 

In less than a month with the Sounds, Braun has become one of the club's all-time leaders in "guitar shots" since Copley began the promotion in July 2004. Former Nashville outfielder Nelson Cruz earned three guitars during portions of the '05 and '06 seasons, while Steve Scarborough hit a pair in 2005 as well.

 

Tri-cycles: Both Braun and Vinny Rottino flirted with the cycle Monday night, as Braun finished needing a triple and Rottino needing a home run. It marked the team-leading sixth multiple-hit game of the season for each, and was the first three-hit night for Rottino.

 

Only two Sounds ? Tike Redman and J.R. House ? have ever hit for the cycle, and the feat has never been accomplished by a Nashville player at Greer Stadium.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

KATIN TIES CLUB RECORD

The Huntsville Stars strung together a season-high 15 hits and put together their biggest inning of the season to burn the Biscuits, 10-3....... It's the 2nd time in seven games the Stars have scored in double-digits.

 

The Stars got off to a bad and ominous start after Lou Palmisano hit into a double play in the 1st inning with the bases loaded. Then in the 2nd, Jeff Eure hit into another double play after Mike Carlin walked to start the frame....... A two-out double by Adam Heether went wasted.

 

But Adam Pettyjohn, consistently effective even though the rotation's overall ERA is 5.31, was holding the defending Southern League champs scoreless. A throwing error by Heether in the 2nd was not damaging. Then suddenly, the Stars caught fire.

 

Brendan Katin doubled to center to lead off the 4th. Palmisano's single moved him over and the first of three sacrifice flies by the Stars brought home the 1st run........ In the 5th, the Stars added two more to make it 3-0. A sacrifice bunt to starter James Houser put runners on 2nd and 3rd and then Katin's fly ball to right scored Guilder Rodriguez. The Stars then executed their 2nd double steal of the season, both now on the road, with Steve Sollmann breaking for home while Steve Moss captured 2nd...... With his 8th steal, Sollmann became the Southern League's stolen base leader.

 

Now, are you ready for today's Stars fun fact?........ The Stars have stolen 28 bases in 16 games to lead the league, but, they have also stolen more bases than any previous Huntsville team in their history...... The 1999 team and the 1991 team stole 24, and they are two of only three other teams that have stolen more than 20 bases after 16 games.

 

The Stars started their 6th inning shellacking against reliever Jerod Matthews, who was 0-7 with Class A-Visalia (California) last year...... Carlin singled to right, then stole 2nd. Eure walked and after Yohannis Perez flied out, G. Rod walked to load the bases...... Goodbye Matthews, who takes the loss...... Matthews threw the first pitch in Biscuits history in 2004, or at least that's what their web site says. He's 18-30 in his first four minor league seasons, and it will be a pleasure to see him again at the end of May.

 

Jeremy Flanagan comes in and the Stars string together six hits, two walks, a hit batter, and Katin's 2nd sacrifice fly to tie a club record..... Eure drove in the final run with a single that bounced off the fence behind the Montgomery bullpen. The inning would have gone on, but Jason Pridie threw out Carlin, who slid into Evan Longoria's tag at third....... But the Stars had a 9-3 lead....... The stingy Huntsville bullpen, with an ERA now of 2.09 after 16 games, held the Biscuits scoreless on three hits over four innings, and the Stars remain in 2nd place in this year's weak division...... The Smokies, after an 8-5 loss Monday night to Mobile, are 9-7, and the only team in the North with a winning record.

 

Brendan Katin, in the 6th inning, became the 1st Stars hitter since Ryan Knox on April 11, 2004, a 9-7 loss to Montgomery, and the 4th Huntsville hitter in history, to have two sac flies in one game....... The Stars, as a team, now have 10 this season, tying them with Montgomery for the league lead.

 

Steve Sollmann may not be the Stars' hottest hitter right now, but he's 4th among Southern League batting leaders with a .359 average, in addition to leading the league in stolen bases....... The hottest hitter at the moment is Steve Moss, who extended his hit streak to nine games with a 6th inning single. Moss has hit .359 during the streak with seven RBIs....... Last year, Moss had a 14-game hit streak and peaked at .281 on May 3 before his average started sinking to the point he hit .198 in May...... For now, Moss has the 2nd longest hitting streak in the Southern League to West Tennessee's Matt Tuaiasosopo.

 

Mike Carlin has hit safely in each of the five games he's played, hitting .353........ Adam Heether snapped an 0-for-20 slump with a double to center in the 3rd inning........ Hernan Iribarren was rested for the 1st time this season. G. Rod took over at 2nd base tonight..... Brendan Katin's bat seems now to be waking up. After an 0-for-7 collar against Jacksonville, he's hitting .375 (9-for-23) and has hit safely in four straight....... Lou Palmisano has also hit in four straight (7-for-16)....... Yohannis Perez is on an 0-for-14 slide, dropping his average to .208....... The Stars have scored 42 runs in their last seven games, compared to 23 in their first seven. They are also hitting .277 in their last seven games....... Steve Hammond (1-2, 6.28) will take the mound for the Stars Tuesday morning in a 10:20 AM game you won't hear on 730-THE UMP (only on the web via the Stars' site). He'll face right-hander Chris Mason.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/story/S...-his-mind/

 

Power's Caufield has Majors on his mind

Jacob Messer

Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter

 

Chuckie Caufield is taking a simple approach to his first season with the West Virginia Power.

 

"I'm just trying to have fun and make the most of it," Caufield said Monday after accounting for three of West Virginia's hits and five of its runs in a 16-5 win over visiting Hickory (N.C.) at Appalachian Power Park. "I'm just trying to enjoy every day.

 

"I know I'm blessed to play this game."

 

A Grand Slam School Day crowd of 2,627 watched the Power set season highs in hits and runs for the second time in three games.

 

West Virginia finished with 18 hits, including at least one from all nine batters.

 

It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Crawdads (7-8) and the 10th straight victory for the Power (12-3).

 

West Virginia's winning streak is the longest since the franchise became a Class A club in 1987. It also is believed to be an all-time franchise record, but that hasn't been verified.

 

Caufield was 3-for-6 with two RBI and three runs.

 

He also showed off the strong arm that made two of college football's perennial powers, Oklahoma and Tennessee, offer scholarships to the former Ada (Okla.) High School quarterback.

 

Caufield scooped up Jim Negrych's RBI single in shallow right field and fired a bullet to catcher Martin Maldonado, who bumped into and tagged out Jamie Romak after collecting the throw about two steps in front of home plate along the third-base line. The impact spun around Maldonado, who held onto the ball to get the out and save a run in the fifth inning.

 

Reid Nichols, Milwaukee's director of player development, has high hopes for Caufield, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound, 23-year-old outfielder the Brewers selected in the 39th round (1,172nd overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.

 

"His tools were a tad below average across the board (when we drafted him), but he has gotten better at everything," said Nichols. "He's a guy who can work his way up to the Big Leagues."

 

Not bad for a guy who isn't mentioned among the Brewers' top 15 outfield prospects (six in center, five in left and four in right) in Baseball America's 2007 Prospect Handbook.

 

Power Manager Mike Guerrero believes draft positions, scouting reports and the like are misleading.

 

"They are like girls in bikinis ... they show a lot, but they don't show everything," said Guerrero, whose team is in first place in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division. "To me, you have to show it on the field. He is starting to show me what he has got out there.

 

"This is a kid who can give you a lot everywhere."

 

Caufield wouldn't be the first in his family to make it to the highest level in professional sports.

 

His sister, LaNeisha, played in the Women's National Basketball Association for the Utah Starzz. His father, Charles, played in the National Football League for the Houston Oilers and Philadelphia Eagles.

 

"They have told me about their experiences and what they went through," Caufield said. "That has helped me along the way."

 

Caufield is the only Power player to appear in all 15 games this season.

 

He had a .316 batting average (12-for-38) with eight RBI and nine runs in West Virginia's last 10 games -- all wins -- compared to a .278 batting average (5-for-18) with two RBI and two runs in its first five games -- two wins and three losses.

 

Advice from Guerrero and Power hitting coach Corey Hart helped Caufield.

 

"I have been trying to stay inside the baseball like Mike and Corey have been preaching to me," said Caufield, who has three steals in four attempts and one error in 15 chances. "I'm just trying to stay poised and relaxed at the plate and let the game come to me."

 

Milwaukee wasn't the first team to take a chance on Caufield.

 

The San Diego Padres selected Caufield in the 25th round (731st overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft, but he didn't sign with them. Instead, he returned to Seminole (Okla.) Junior College for his sophomore season before he transferred to Oklahoma for his junior and senior years.

 

"I think it turned out better for me," Caufield said. "Coming out of high school, I was focused on football. I was going to play Division I, but I had a knee injury. So, I ended up playing baseball.

 

"When I got drafted the first time, I wasn't mature enough (to play professionally). I was just getting by on my athletic ability. I'm a better player now than I was then."

 

Charleston Daily Mail Photo: Bob Wojcieszak

West Virginia Power catcher Martin Maldonado puts the tag on Hickory?s Jamie Romak as he attempts to cross home plate during the Power?s 16-5 rout Monday at Appalachian Power Park. The throw came from Power outfielder Chuckie Caufield.

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/ZZHICKPOW42407.jpg