Link Report for Games of Saturday, April 21st

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Saturday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP R.A. Dickey at home vs. Iowa(Cubs), 5:40 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: LHP Sam Narron at Montgomery (Devil Rays), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.huntsvillestars.com/

 

Brevard County: LHP Rafael Lluberes at Palm Beach (Cardinals), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

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

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

 

West Virginia: LHP Mike Ramlow at home vs. Hickory (Pirates), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

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

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

[Mass Haas]

Follow Saturday'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_monaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pbcafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

These links will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally they are updated an hour or two prior to gametime, with Nashville's usually earlier:

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

 

Huntsville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

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

[Mass Haas]

Standings through Friday's action:

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 9 6 .600 - 6-2 3-4 W3 Nashville 9 6 .600 - 3-4 6-2 W3 Omaha 7 9 .438 2.5 5-3 2-6 W2 Memphis 6 10 .375 3.5 5-3 1-7 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 7 6 .538 - 1-2 6-4 W1 Huntsville 6 7 .462 1.0 4-6 2-1 L2 Chattanooga 6 9 .400 2.0 4-6 2-3 L1 West Tenn 6 9 .400 2.0 2-3 4-6 W1 Carolina 4 11 .267 4.0 2-3 2-8 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 8 6 .571 - 4-5 4-1 W1 Daytona 8 7 .533 0.5 5-3 3-4 L1 Brevard County 7 7 .500 1.0 2-4 5-3 L1 St. Lucie 7 7 .500 1.0 3-5 4-2 W1 Jupiter 7 8 .467 1.5 2-3 5-5 L3 Vero Beach 6 8 .429 2.0 4-3 2-5 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 9 3 .750 - 7-3 2-0 W7 Hickory 7 5 .583 2.0 2-3 5-2 L1 Greensboro 8 6 .571 2.0 6-2 2-4 L3 Lexington 8 7 .533 2.5 6-5 2-2 W1 Lakewood 5 6 .455 3.5 2-4 3-2 L2 Lake County 6 8 .429 4.0 2-2 4-6 W1 Delmarva 5 8 .385 4.5 0-2 5-6 W2 Hagerstown 5 10 .333 5.5 2-5 3-5 L1

[Boy Jeenius]

Darren Ford with a hit and 2 walks so far. If he can just spend this year working on plate discipline, and cutting down those k's, he has a chance, with that off the chart speed.

[colbyjack]

For whatever reason, tonight's Nashville Sounds game was bumped back to 7:00 pm. While that was nice for the simple fact that we were able to get down to the field level pre-game to try and see some of the players up close, we had to leave after the second inning since our son was getting tired.

 

Ryan Braun laced a double down the right-field line for a double in his first at-bat. He looks like a man among boys even at this level. I believe Angel Guzman was on the mound and on the first pitch offered Braun a fastball of which Braun didn't think twice about swinging at.

 

Here's a picture of Braun warming up:

 

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/ryanbraun1-web.jpg

 

And Ryan was kind enough to take our son Henry out of my wife's arms to pose for this shot (which of course stole my wife's heart):

 

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/braunhenry-web.jpg

 

To the Braun family fans out there, a big thanks from mine to yours. This Nashville trip has been absolutely fantastic, and having Ryan open his arms to take our son for a photo opportunity was the icing on the cake. Thanks Ryan!

 

EDIT: And yes, the Sounds were wearing Brewers jerseys tonight. I swear every single head in the stands turned to look at us wearing our Brewers gear. Nashville is about the same size as Milwaukee, if not bigger, and to see these folks watching AAA baseball in a stadium that clearly needs to either be renovated or replaced was interesting to say the least.

[Mass Haas]

Just want to say that still 18-year-old Venezuelan West Virginia LHP Luis Ramirez is going to be tremendous on a Miller Park mound some day.

 

Much more later on tonight's action...Colby, thanks for sharing!

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 11, Hickory (Pirates) 6

Eight in a row for the Power -- at some point we can't call this an overachieving bunch any more -- there's talent here...

 

West Virginia Box Score:

1B John Alonso 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI; newcomer C Martin Maldonado on base five times, 4-for-4 with a double and a walk; Darren Ford on base four times, steals three bases; the afore-mentioned Luis Ramirez with four stellar innings in relief...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

Sloppy Hickory defense sparked the Power to a 5-0 first inning lead...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Palm Beach (Cardinals) 3, Brevard County 2, 12 innings

Boy, this team has lost some tough games; CF Charlie Fermaint's error with two outs in the 12th allows the winning run to score...

 

Brevard County Box Score:

The Manatee 5-through-9 hitters went 0-for-20 with six K's and one walk; LHP Derek Miller was your Brevard starter (not Rafael Lluberes) -- Miller deserved much better, allowing only one hit in 6.1 IP, both runs he allowed came in after he left the game; Palm Beach lefty starter Tyler Norrick has been one of the best pitchers in all of minor league baseball this April...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pbcafa_1

 

Brevard County Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pbcafa_1

[Mass Haas]

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER OUTSLUG HICKORY

 

The West Virginia Power set single game season highs with 11 runs and 15 hits on Saturday night at Appalachian Power Park as they defeated the Hickory Crawdads 11-6 to take the first game of the series and win their eighth game in a row.

 

West Virginia jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first. John Alonso and Martin Maldonado both smacked RBI singles, Kenny Holmberg and Chuckie Caufield both brought in a run as they reached on Anderson Gonzalez?s errors at short and Anderson Delarosa knocked in a run on a groundout.

 

Hickory answered quickly with a three-run second inning. Jared Keel smacked an RBI triple, Kent Sakomoto brought in a run on a groundout and Eddie Prasch hit a solo shot, his first of the year.

 

West Virginia got all three runs back in the third inning. Delarosa walked with the bases loaded, Maldonado ripped his second RBI single of the game and Jimmy Mojica knocked in the third run on a sacrifice fly.

 

Hickory continued to stay close as they countered West Virginia?s three-run inning with a three-run frame of their own. In the top of the fourth, Keel doubled in a run before Kent Sakomoto hit a two-run homer to bring the Crawdads within two.

 

West Virginia scored the last three runs of the game on Alonso?s two-run single with two outs in the fifth inning and Maldonado?s third RBI single of the game in the eighth.

 

Power lefty Luis Ramirez (1-0) provided four scoreless innings of two-hit ball in relief to earn his first victory of the season and Mike Felix (0-2) suffered the loss. Alonso and Maldonado paced the Power with four hits and three RBI a piece. Darren Ford, Holmberg and Steve Chapman all chipped in with two hits.

 

The Power improved to 10-3 with the win and the Crawdads fell to 7-6 with the loss.

 

The Power will continue the four game series against Hickory Sunday afternoon. The Power will start right hander Roque Mercedes (0-1, 33.75) and the Crawdads will counter with right hander Jared Hughes (1-0, 1.69). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM (1:05 Central).

[heresrobin]

Mass, good call on Luis Ramirez. He's definitely on my West Virginia radar right now (along with Braddock who forced himself onto our radars with his 12K performance). He's a solid pitcher right now on the West Virginia staff, and if my math is correct, he does not even turn 19 for another two weeks. Some young, lanky, left handed pitching talent in West Virgina right now. Cool.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Montgomery (Devil Rays) 7, Huntsville 6

Painful loss after the Stars had rallied with a five-run 6th to take a 6-5 lead, but LHP Luis Villarreal gave it back in the bottom of the inning...

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Stars down 2-0 after the 1st inning -- this is getting really old already with Huntsville starters faltering early; Steve Moss with two doubles and three RBI -- he's been team MVP thus far; Steve Sollmann on base three more times...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

Stars go down meekly in the 9th, all on K's; Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria big parts of Tampa Bay's # 1 farm system; Stars' announcer Brett Pollock just noted on the post-game that all seven Biscuit runs scored with two outs...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 6, Iowa (Cubs) 1

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

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

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2275

 

Dickey, Sounds Take Down I-Cubs, 6-1

 

NASHVILLE ? Nashville native R.A. Dickey turned in an outstanding start, allowing one run over eight innings, to lead the Sounds to a 6-1 victory over the division-rival Iowa Cubs in front of a season-high 9,786 fans on Saturday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

The win was the fourth in a row and ninth in the last 11 contests for Nashville (10-6), which took a one-game lead over Iowa in the PCL American Conference Northern Division.

 

Dickey (1-2), who had lost his first two outings of the year, allowed only four hits and struck out four batters in his 111-pitch outing. He also helped himself out at the plate, going 1-for-4 with his first career RBI in the contest.

 

Vinny Rottino reached base in all four of his plate appearances, Andy Abad drove in three runs and belted his first home run of the year, and Ozzie Chavez continued his recent hot hitting with a 3-for-4 evening that included a double.

 

Nashville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Callix Crabbe led off with a single against Iowa starter Angel Guzman and moved to third on a Ryan Braun double, the third baseman?s twelfth extra-base hit among his 16 knocks this season. Abad followed with an RBI groundout that plated Crabbe with the game?s first run.

 

The Sounds tacked on two runs in the second when Rottino scored on a Chris Barnwell groundout and Dickey plated Chavez with an RBI single to right, the hurler?s first minor-league hit and first career RBI.

 

Abad upped the Nashville lead to 5-0 in the third with a mammoth two-run home run to right field off Guzman. The blast, his first of the season, also plated Braun, who had opened the frame with a walk.

 

AUDIO: Andy Abad's Two-Run HR --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-21.mp3

 

The I-Cubs scratched across their lone run against Dickey in the fifth when catcher Koyie Hill led off with a double and later scored on a Buck Coats groundout.

 

Nashville added its final tally in the seventh when Rottino was hit by a Randy Wells pitch and took advantage of a sluggish Iowa defense to hustle home from first when Chavez followed with a single to right.

 

Guzman (0-1) took the loss for Iowa after allowing five runs on six hits in three innings during his first Triple-A appearance of the season.

 

The teams continue the series with a 2 p.m. matinee meeting on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Tim Dillard (0-1, 4.32) will man the bump for the Sounds and face Iowa southpaw Ryan O?Malley (0-1, 1.15).

 

SPURLING CALLED UP BY BREWERS; AQUINO OPTIONED TO SOUNDS: Nashville reliever Chris Spurling had his contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers following the game and will join the club tomorrow. The veteran hurler went 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA (2 ER / 9.2 IP) in six relief outings for the Sounds to open the season. Milwaukee optioned reliever Greg Aquino to Nashville and the right-hander will join the Sounds within three days. In eight relief appearances for the Brew Crew this season, Aquino posted a 5.87 ERA (5 ER / 7.2 IP).

 

Nashville Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

Ryan Braun defense -- caught a foul pop up in his only chance; there was an infield hit to third base in the 9th...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

colbyjack, in case you didn't know, the start of the Sounds game was one hour later than scheduled due to Iowa equipment arrival delays.

 

Just what you want with a Saturday night crowd...go you concessions!

[And That]

Just want to say that still 18-year-old Venezuelan West Virginia LHP Luis Ramirez is going to be tremendous on a Miller Park mound some day.

 

I so said that last week. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1118

 

Stars Drop Second Straight One-Run Decision

 

Chris Nowak?s two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning turned out to be the game-winning hit in Montgomery?s 7-6 win over Huntsville Saturday night in the opener of a five-game series in front of 7,298 at Riverwalk Stadium. The Biscuits improved to 9-7 on the season and 5-1 at home, while the Stars dropped to 6-8 in losing a third straight game for a first time this season. Huntsville slipped to two games behind Tennessee in the Southern League North.

 

Chris Seddon held the Stars to one hit through five frames before Hernan Iribarren, Mike Carlin and Brendan Katin singled to load the bases to open the sixth. Steve Sollmann?s base hit to right field plated Iribarren to cut the Biscuits? lead to 5-2 and chased the left-hander from the game. Brett Wayne took over and promptly allowed a two-run double to Steve Moss that trimmed the lead to 5-4 and pushed Sollmann to third base. An errant pickoff attempt by Wayne at second base permitted Sollmann to score to tie the game and advanced Moss to third, from where he scored the go-ahead run on a Max St. Pierre single.

 

Luis Villareal took over for starter Sam Narron in the home sixth and gave up a leadoff single to Josh Asanovich and a double to Fernando Perez before retiring Jason Pridie and Reid Brignac to maintain the lead. The Stars elected to walk Evan Longoria, who had already homered and knocked in three, to load the bases and the strategy was foiled when Nowak, a .171 hitter coming into the game, grounded a 1-1 pitch into left field for the decisive blow of the game.

 

Longoria?s two-out, two-run line drive long ball in the first staked the defending league champions to the early lead and marked the third straight start in which Narron had surrendered a home run in the first frame. Brignac singled in a two-out run in the second inning and he and Longoria delivered back-to-back two-out, run-scoring singles in the fourth to push the Biscuit?s lead to 5-1.

 

Moss?s RBI double in the second inning extended his hitting streak to seven games and got the visitors on the board. The Huntsville center fielder has a home run, three doubles and five runs batted in over the last two games. Sollmann, the league leader in on base percentage entering the game, singled twice, scored twice and was hit by a pitch.

 

The series in Montgomery continues Sunday afternoon with left-hander Manny Parra making the start against Biscuits? right-hander Derek Feldcamp. Coverage of the game begins at 1:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 AM WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Stars notebook

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Covering the bases

 

Scott Martens, business manager in the Milwaukee Brewers' player development office, was in Huntsville last week for an inspection tour of the Stars' new clubhouse. Martens was a key figure in getting the long-overdue project off the ground and helped in the design.

 

It's a nice, roomy, first-class clubhouse with a lounge area adjacent to the dressing area and good office space for the staff.

 

There are still finishing touches left to be done, and it was disheartening that the work was still being completed as the players arrived to begin the season. That was due not to workers' delays, but to inexplicable delays in beginning the bid process.

 

Still, it's a mystery to some that the new clubhouse wasn't put on the first-base side. The cramped visitors clubhouse on that side could've been revamped and the Stars moved there, leaving visiting teams with the smaller room on the third-base side.

 

Martens had more pressing construction worries on his visit to the South. He's also been in Nashville, where the Brewers' Triple-A team works in 30-year-old Greer Stadium. A new downtown stadium had been planned in Nashville, but failure by the developers to secure funding has led the city government to rescind its approval of the project. The city could soon be without a pro baseball team. ...

 

Bucky Jacobsen, the popular former Star who had a brief stay with the Seattle Mariners a couple of years ago, began this year in Mexico but has asked for his release, hoping to hook on with a team in Japan or Korea. ...

 

Even if the recent home stand against Jacksonville wasn't always stellar for the Stars, it was considerably better than Huntsville's 0-10 record against the Suns last year. ... What a moment in Wednesday's game: Grant Balfour, the reliever from Australia, facing Chin-Lung Hu, the Jacksonville shortstop from Taiwan, with Max St. Pierre, the catcher from Canada, behind the plate, with Luis Mata, the second baseman from Venezuela, on base. Only in America.

 

Brewings

 

Triple-A Nashville Sounds (9-6 before Saturday's play, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): 1B Brad Nelson eight-game hitting streak, 3B Ryan Braun 5 HR, 11 RBIs in 15 games, .278

 

Single-A Brevard County Manatees (7-7, tied for third in Florida State East): Infielder Chris Errecart .411, 10 RBIs.

 

Single-A West Virginia Power (9-3, first in South Atlantic League Northern Division): SS Jimmy Mojica .353, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs.

 

On deck

 

The Stars are in Montgomery today for the second of a five-game series, then travel to Birmingham for five more games beginning Thursday. Huntsville's next home game is May 2 against Chattanooga.

[Mass Haas]

Brewerfan sends condolences to Stars manager Don Money and his family.

 

Huntsville Times:

 

Stars manager Don Money, whose father Robert died last Wednesday, will rejoin the team this week. His tentative plans were to return in time for the series opener in Birmingham on Thursday.

[Mass Haas]

MiLB.com:

 

Cards top Manatees in 12

 

Ian Church singled and scored the winning run on an error in the bottom of the 12th inning as Palm Beach outlasted Brevard County, 3-2, on Saturday.

 

Church was 0-for-4 before starting the 12th with a base hit to left field. He moved to second on Shane Robinson's sacrifice and Dan Nelson walked before center fielder Charlie Fermaint misplayed A.J. Van Slyke's fly ball.

 

Nathan Southard smacked a two-run double in the seventh for the Cardinals (10-6).

 

Scott Vander Weg (1-0) struck out three over two innings of hitless relief for the win. Palm Beach starter Tyler Norrick allowed a run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts over six innings as his ERA climbed to 0.38.

 

Josh Wahpepah (0-3) took the loss after yielding an unearned run on one hit and a walk while retiring two batters in the 12th.

 

Brevard County starter Derek Miller gave up two runs on one hit and two walks with four strikeouts over 6 1/3 frames.

 

Cole Gillespie drove in both runs for the Manatees (7-9). --Danny Wild/MLB.com

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Sounds pitcher gets first RBI

Dickey also has first hit in minors, helps beat Iowa

By MIKE ORGAN, Tennessean Staff Writer

 

R.A. Dickey's first career RBI helped the former Tennessee pitcher pick up his first win of the season Saturday night.

 

Dickey's single to left field, his first hit in the minor leagues, scored Vinny Rottino in the second inning of the Sounds' 6-1 win.

 

It marked the fourth time in Dickey's 11 seasons in professional baseball that he has batted. He was 1-for-3 for the Texas Rangers. His only previous hit was a single in 2003 off Claudio Vargas.

 

A season-high Greer Stadium crowd of 9,786 saw the Sounds win their fourth consecutive game and ninth out of the last 11.

 

"The hit was probably more eventful than the actual game,'' Dickey said. "Any time you can help yourself in a game like that it's good. You never know what the score is going to be. I was fortunate, I got a fastball on the first pitch and I just swung."

 

As big as Dickey's hit was, his eight-inning performance on the mound was better. The former Montgomery Bell Academy standout retired nine of Iowa's first 10 batters and finished by allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

 

The win was Dickey's first as a Sound after losing his first two starts.

 

Iowa's pitchers struggled. The Sounds got 10 hits off of the Cubs' three pitchers. Starter Angel Guzman gave up five runs and six hits in three innings.

 

Dickey's eight innings marked the most by a Sounds pitcher this season, eclipsing Tim Dillard's 6+ innings.

 

Dickey retired the side in four innings.

 

"I wanted to go more because I felt great,'' Dickey said. "I worked on some things between my last start and this start. I really think with Stan Kyles, our pitching coach, we might have figured some fun things out that might really help us in the future. I'm really looking forward to getting back out there because of the adjustments that we made."

 

The win moved Nashville ahead of Iowa for first place in the American Conference Northern Division. Saturday's game was the first divisional game for both teams.

 

What they said: "We're swinging the bats much better than we have been and we're scoring a lot more runs. The pitching is still holding us in there, doing a great job and giving us a chance.'' ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas.

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Brewers send Aquino to Sounds' bullpen

By MIKE ORGAN, Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Milwaukee pitcher Greg Aquino was optioned to Nashville after the Sounds game Saturday night against Iowa.

 

In eight relief appearances this season for the Brewers, Aquino had no decisions, posted a 5.87 ERA and gave up five earned runs in 7 2/3 innings.

 

Aquino has three days to report to Nashville.

 

Also, the contract of Sounds reliever Chris Spurling was purchased by Milwaukee. Spurling was 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA in six relief appearances for the Sounds.

 

Delayed start: The starting time for Saturday's game was moved to 7 p.m. because some of the Cubs' equipment was delayed on a flight.

 

Half of the team's 50 equipment bags did not arrive in Nashville on a flight from Minneapolis until 5:35 p.m. Starting pitcher Angel Guzman's bag was among those that arrived late.

 

Sounds' personnel picked up the equipment at the airport and arrived at Greer Stadium at 6 p.m., giving the Cubs an hour to get ready.

 

First start: Saturday was the first start for Guzman for Iowa after being optioned by Chicago on Tuesday. Guzman appeared in four games for Chicago in relief and posted a 2.45 ERA. Guzman was pulled after the third inning after giving up five runs and six hits.

 

Ryan rolling: Nashville's Ryan Braun picked up another extra base hit Saturday. The third baseman hit a double to right field in the first inning, meaning 12 of his first 16 hits this season were for extra bases (seven doubles and five home runs). Braun also has had a hit in nine consecutive games, the longest for any Sounds player this season. Braun added a single in the sixth.

 

First homer: Andy Abad's third-inning homer over the right field wall was the first of the season for the first baseman.

 

Auction: The Sounds players, managers and mascot Ozzie wore white Milwaukee Brewers uniforms for Saturday's game.

 

The jerseys and pants were auctioned off to fans with proceeds going to the Nashville Sounds Foundation for charitable efforts. Braun's uniform got the top bid at $250.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2007042148

 

Power wins 8th straight in slugfest

By Rick Ryan

Charleston Gazette Assistant Sports Editor

 

Power manager Mike Guerrero has nothing to be superstitious about. Because right now his team is playing, well, super.

 

The Power stretched its winning streak to eight games Saturday night, racking up season highs in runs and hits during an 11-6 South Atlantic League victory over Hickory. A turnout of 4,693, another season high, enjoyed the mild weather and the hitting display at Appalachian Power Park.

 

First baseman John Alonso led the 15-hit onslaught as West Virginia (10-3) maintained its two-game lead in the Northern Division. Alonso went 4-for-5 with a double and drove in three runs.

 

?We?re just playing great ball since the start of the season,?? said Guerrero, the team?s second-year skipper. ?The guys have come together pretty good and the chemistry on this team is pretty good. I see a different guy every night stepping it up a notch and having a great night. That?s what everything is all about.

 

?There is nothing to be superstitious of. I believe there is a God upstairs, and he?s blessed us with a really good start.??

 

About the only blip on the radar screen Saturday were the numbers of Power starter Mike Ramlow. The left-hander gave up seven hits and six runs ? all earned ? in four innings. That came on the heels of a three-game home sweep of Greensboro when the Power held the Grasshoppers to five total runs.

 

But that was more than offset by the Power?s hitting barrage and the work of relievers Luis Ramirez and Omar Aguilar.

 

Ramirez (1-0) picked up the win with four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four with one walk. Aguilar gave up a leadoff hit in the ninth, but fanned Angel Gonzalez, then induced James Boone into a double-play grounder to short to end the game.

 

Another thing Guerrero liked was his team?s aggressive nature. The Power swiped five bases ? three by Darren Ford, two by Brent Brewer ? and responded every time the Crawdads (7-6) made a move.

 

West Virginia put up a five-spot in the first, with Alonso and Martin Maldonado providing run-scoring hits. Hickory answered with three in the top of the second, but the Power matched that with three of its own in the third, including another RBI single by Maldonado.

 

Hickory came up with three more in the fourth to shave the deficit to 8-6 ? Kent Sakamoto blasted a two-run homer ? but the Power again retaliated with a pair of runs in the fifth to maintain a cushion. Alonso laced a two-run line-drive single to center to bump the lead back to 10-6.

 

?That?s the way I manage,?? Guerrero said of his team?s aggressiveness. ?It?s not looking to make a statement. I?m looking to win ballgames.??

 

The Crawdads came into the opener of the four-game series riding an effective pitching staff. In winning two of three at Lexington, Hickory held the Legends to a .202 team batting average.

 

But the Power?s bats proved to be hotter than Hickory?s arms, and the offense was enough to give West Virginia a rare comfortable win. Seven of the team?s 10 victories have come by a single run.

 

?I believe that every ballgame is different,?? Guerrero said. ?There?s ballgames that you have to execute a little more than others. Tonight we had a really good ballgame all around. They also had a couple good innings that they hit the ball well. We just had a better night than them.??

 

The series continues at 2:05 PM today (1:05 Central), with the Power throwing right-hander Roque Mercedes (0-1, 3.75 ERA) against Crawdads righty Jared Hughes (1-0, 1.69).

[Mass Haas]

Notes from David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

Chris Nowak, a .172 hitter, delivered a game-winning, two-out, two-run single off Luis Villareal in the 6th inning after the Stars took a 6-5 lead Saturday night, handing the Stars their 5th loss in seven games........ How frustrating for stand-in manager Sandy Guerrero to bring in someone from the bullpen, the Stars strongest point in this early stage of the season, and see Villareal, who came in with a 1.50 ERA, load the bases, then with two out, give up the tying and winning runs.

 

But the real problem, as I've mentioned before, is this alarming tendency to get off to a bad 1st inning start. This is the 4th straight game in which the Stars have given up at least one run in the 1st....... The Stars are now 2-7 in games in these kind of games, and it made all the difference in Saturday's game....... The Stars have now given up 24 first-inning runs this season while starters have been socked for a .435 average........ As bad as last year's 1st half was, they didn't give up that many runs until May 17th, and opponents were hitting .309 against the Stars in the 1st inning after the first month..

 

Sam Narron, for the 3rd straight start, gave up a home run in the 1st inning, a line-drive shot to left by Evan Longoria, scoring Reid Brignac......... He and Longoria delivered back-to-back 2-out, RBI singles in the 4th to push the Biscuit?s lead to 5-1........ The Stars then bounced back in the top of the 6th with their biggest inning of the year.

 

Singles by Hernan Iribarren, Mike Carlin, and Brendan Katin loaded the bases....... With nobody out, Steve Sollmann, 7-for-14 in the series against Jacksonville, dropped a base hit into right to score Iribarren and keep the bases full. Steve Moss then smacked a two-run double off the third base bag and down the left field line and made it a 5-4 game......... Moss has now hit safely in six of his last seven games, going 9-for-30 with four doubles and a triple....... After Jeff Eure struck out swinging for the first out, a pickoff throw on an 0-2 pitch to Max St. Pierre sailed past 2nd baseman Josh Asanovich, tying the game...... St. Pierre, who had seen a total of only four pitches in his two previous at-bats, then slapped a 1-2 pitch past Reid Brignac, scoring Moss to give the Stars a 6-5 lead.

 

Huntsville's rotation for the year is now 4-5 with a 5.71 ERA..... After 14 games last year, the Stars were 8-6. Our starters had an of 3.66 and they had given up just nine first-inning runs.