Link Report for Games of Opening Night, April 5th

[Mass Haas]

Brevard Game Notes from MiLB.com:

 

Matulia propels Cubs

 

Matt Matulia drove in three runs as visiting Daytona opened the season with an 8-3 victory over Brevard County on Thursday night at Space Coast Stadium.

 

Matulia doubled home Jake Muyco to snap a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning and delivered a two-run single during a four-run eighth.

 

Nate Spears and James Adduci opened the eighth with consecutive singles off Manatees reliever Josh Wahpepah (0-1). Both advanced a base on a passed ball by Nestor Corredor before Robinson Chirinos walked to load the bases. Jesus Valdez singled home Spears and Adduci to give the Cubs a 5-2 lead.

 

An error on the play by left fielder Cole Gillespie allowed Chirinos and Valdez to move up. Matulia followed with a single up the middle to make it 7-2.

 

Chris Errecart, a Pioneer League All-Star last year, homered in the third and plated a run with a groundout in the ninth for Brevard County.

 

Daytona's Mitch Atkins (1-0) gave up two runs on four hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out four in his Florida State League debut. -- Christopher Henderson/MLB.com

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for photo, text follows:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2246

 

Sounds Drop Opener To Zephyrs, 4-1

 

NASHVILLE ? It was a chilly Opening Day for the Nashville Sounds on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

A game time temperature in the low 40s and a solid effort by the New Orleans Zephyrs pitching staff, which held the Sounds? offense to only two hits on the evening, kept Nashville on ice in a 4-1 season-opening loss in front of 4,297 fans.

 

New Orleans starter Phillip Humber (1-0) held the Sounds offense in check during his impressive Triple-A debut, holding Nashville to one hit over five innings of work while walking three and striking out four. Jose Santiago followed with three hitless innings of relief and Lino Urdaneta finished up with a scoreless ninth to notch the save.

 

Nashville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning against Humber. Third baseman Ryan Braun (1-for-2), the Milwaukee Brewers? top positional prospect, ripped the second pitch he saw in his Triple-A career for a leadoff, opposite-field double to right, the lone knock permitted by the New Orleans right-hander all evening.

 

AUDIO: Ryan Braun Double --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%204-5.mp3

 

With runners on first and third following a Joe Dillon groundout and Brad Nelson walk, Braun scored the first Nashville run of the season on a throwing error by New Orleans catcher Mike DiFelice when the veteran backstop misfired while trying to throw out an in-motion Nelson at second.

 

New Orleans stormed back to grab a 3-1 advantage with single runs against Sounds starter Zach Jackson in the third, fourth, and fifth frames. The first and third Z?s runs came in on Anderson Hernandez RBI groundouts. Carlos Gomez gave the visitors a 2-1 lead in the fourth when he led off with a double down the right field line and scored one batter later on a flare RBI single off the bat of Ricky Ledee (2-for-4).

 

Jackson (0-1) worked 4 1/3 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out three.

 

Second baseman Ruben Gotay tacked on the final New Orleans run in the top of the eighth when he belted a solo homer to right off Nashville reliever Dennis Sarfate.

 

The Sounds and Zephyrs continue their season-opening series with another 7 p.m. meeting on Friday evening at Greer Stadium. Right-hander Tim Dillard will make his Class AAA debut when he takes the hill for Nashville to face New Orleans left-hander Jason Vargas.

 

It will be NASCAR Night at the ballpark. Busch Series driver and Nashville native Bobby Hamilton, Jr. will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Stock cars will also be on display near the main entrance at Greer Stadium.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%204-5.mp3

[TheCrew07]

No idea why, but the first link report is as cool to me as opening day for the big club. Thanks in advance Mass for another year of feeding my minor league fetish.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1099

 

Stars Successful on Opening Night

 

Adam Heether delivered the game-winning single in the bottom of the tenth inning to lift the Stars to a season-opening 4-3 win Thursday night over the Mississippi Braves on a chilly night in front of 2,128 at Joe Davis Stadium. Huntsville knocked off the visitors for a second straight season in the first game of the year and improved to 14-9 all-time in season starters.

 

Steve Sollman drew a leadoff walk off of Joey Devine to open the tenth, advanced to second base on a Ulyses Davenport ground out, moved to third on an infield single by pinch-hitter Guilder Rodriguez and scored the decisive run when Heether smacked an 0-1 offering just inside the line past a diving third sacker Van Pope.

 

The Braves tied the game at three in the eighth inning on a two-out, run-scoring by Brandon Jones off of former major leaguer Grant Balfour. The visitors put runners at the corners with one out in the ninth but Luis Villareal induced pinch-hitter Carl Loadenthal to ground into an inning-ending double play. The Stars? southpaw then tossed a scoreless tenth to grab the win in his first-ever double-A appearance.

 

Brent Lillibridge delivered a run-scoring single in the third inning and came around to score when Jones followed with a triple to give the Braves a 2-0 lead against starter Adam Pettyjohn, who struck out seven in his four frames. Pettyjohn, Robert Hinton and Mark DiFelice went on to retire 14 hitters in a row before Greg Creek?s leadoff single in the eighth against Balfour. The five Huntsville hurlers recorded 14 strikeouts.

 

Steve Moss singled home Sollman with two outs in the fourth to get the home side on the board and finished with three hits in four at-bats. Braves? starter Matt Harrison was taken out after five frames and replaced by Jose Ascanio, who narrowly escaped a bases loaded, two-out jam in the sixth. Yohannis Perez led off the home seventh with a single and Ascanio was replaced by former Stars? hurler Joe Winkelsas, who retired last season but decided to continue playing again this off-season. Pinch-hitter Mel Stocker advanced Perez to second base with a sacrifice bunt and Hernan Iribarren followed with a single to plate Perez with the tying run. Iribarren appeared to be caught in between first and second base when the relay throw to the plate was cut off but an errant throw by Creek sailed into right field and allowed Iribarren to score the go-ahead run.

 

The series continues Friday night with Huntsville sending southpaw Steve Hammond to the hill against Braves left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes. Coverage of the game begins with the pre-game show at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard locally on 730 WUMP-AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

WEATHER OR NOT...

I knew this would be a chilly night at the ballpark. The temperature during the day never got out of the 50s, even though the sun was shining bright, but once it went down, I knew this was not going to be a pleasurable game to sit through. I'm amazed I lasted 7½ innings in the seats........ It was --- the chilliest opening day in more than five years, and despite a long-sleeved shirt, a jacket, a coat, and gloves (which I didn't wear five years ago), it was still torture. A north wind at 10-12 mph blew constantly toward the stands. There was a rush on coffee and hot cocoa, which didn't become available until midway through the game....... Worse yet, those hard seats that make concrete feel soft at the stadium feel even harder when they're cold.

 

The official temperature of 47° at game-time beats the 50° start when the Stars lost to the Carolina Mudcats, April 4, 2002....... Coincidentally, that was the last extra-inning opener in Stars history, and what I received from looking up the temperature on my cellphone was also 50°. By the time it was over, it had dipped to 44°........ It's hard to imagine the weather being any worse, short of rain, for the rest of the series, but it's supposed to get colder still --- progressively --- for the rest of the series........ Before the game, one Mississippi player before the game told me, "For this, I left Florida."

 

Despite the unavailability of hot cocoa and $2 coffee in styrofoam dixie cups of bathroom-size, and despite the below-normal weather, it didn't take away from the atmosphere. It's a pity they couldn't do better business tonight....... You even have to give credit to the fans who did come, for they all seemed to enjoy themselves on opening day.

 

Most people seem to agree the club's strong suit this year is pitching......... That certainly was evident tonight as Stars pitchers struck out 14 Mississippi batters, the most on Opening Day since 1996, when Bret Wagner, Bob Bennett, Mike Maurer, and Gary Haught of the A's organization combined to strike out 14 Memphis hitters, and if you think this night was cold, that game was played in Memphis under a 41° night sky and a north wind of 20 mph!....... Hmmmm! Brings to mind something I heard Corey Thurman tell me last year. That pitchers prefer cold weather because if favors them. When you think about it, they're the only ones on the field in motion on a chilly night. While the batter just stands there with everyone else in the field, freezing, the pitcher is the only one in motion before a ball is hit, so in a pitcher-batter confrontation, he can use the weather in his favor and control the pace of the game. He decides how long the batter gets to stand there like a popsicle, while he efforts to stay warm with each pitch. With that advantage, I see where the strikeouts can mount in a chilly ballpark.

 

If that was Adam Pettyjohn's strategy, it worked, if not perfectly........ After throwing 13 pitches and not getting ahead on the first two hitters in the Braves lineup, Pettyjohn worked out of trouble with runners on 2nd and 3rd, and retired Brandon Jones, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Juan Esquivel on nine pitches, striking out Jones and Esquivel....... Pettyjohn, who pitched for the Jacksonville Suns back in 1999 and 2000, then retired the side on 11 pitches in the 2nd inning, and struck out three more in the 3rd, but not before allowing the Braves to take a 2-0 lead.

 

With one out, J.R. Holt singled through the right side of the infield into right-center, then on a 2-1 pitch to Brent Lillibridge, Holt stole 2nd despite a strong, accurate throw by Lou Palmisano. Lillibridge proceeded to line a single to left, scoring Holt, a former high school sprint champion........ Brandon Jones, 4th-ranked among the Braves' top minor league prospects, then lined a triple inside the right field line to score Lillibridge to make it 2-0......... Pettyjohn threw 66% of his pitches for strikes in the first three innings, but he used up 48 of his 70-75 pitch count in the 1st and 3rd innings, and he was gone after four.

 

Meanwhile, Braves' starter Matt Harrison made it look for five innings as if it would be a long season for Stars fans, aggressively throwing his fast ball in the 90-93 range, and using it effectively as well, throwing 30 of his first 39 pitches for strikes...... In the 4th inning, though, the Stars used small ball to score their first run.

 

Steve Sollmann, whose name was constantly being misspelled I observed, singled through the left side of the infield on a 1-1 pitch. Ron, or Ulyses (You-lis), Davenport, as he was referred to in the game moved him over on a slow groundball to Holt........ Brendan Katin showed off some of his power, launching a 2-2 pitch deep into the sky to left, but just shy of the track........ With Adam Heether at the plate, Sollmann daringly decided to advance on a 2-2 pitch. Fortunately, the pitch was in the dirt, and Sollmann made it to 3rd anyway........ After hitting a two-out triple in the 2nd that was wasted when Palmisano grounded out, Steve Moss, on a full count, singled past the outstretched glove of Harrison up the middle and past Lillibridge for an RBI single to make it 2-1.

 

The Stars drove Harrison from the game after they left behind a chance to take the lead in the 6th........ Palmisano, who hit .119 last year with runners in scoring position and two out, hit into a force with Moss on 1st and Heether on 2nd. In deference, Palmisano should have been absolved, for Moss beat the toss from Lillibridge to Holt, but the call from 3rd base ump Toby Basner, new to the league, was missed.

 

The Stars pitching corps was able to retire 14 straight hitters after Jones' RBI-triple, striking out five amongst Pettyjohn and relievers Robert Hinton and Mark DiFelice........ It bought the Stars enough room and time to get the lead in the 7th inning off Jose Ascenio...... Yohannis Perez, 0-for-2 for the past two, going on three years, picked up his first hit with a leadoff slap to the opposite field. Mel Stocker, making his debut for the Stars, sacrificed Perez to 2nd........ That was all for Ascenio. Mississippi manager Phillip Wellman then pulled a fateful double-switch, calling in big Greg Creek to play 1st and former Huntsville Stars pitcher Joe Winkelsas from the bullpen.........Hernan Iribarren, behind 0-and-2, fouled off a couple of pitches, then lined a single straight to center. Josh Burrus took the ball on a couple of hops and fired it in, but Winky cut the ball off, seeing more of a chance to get Iribarren who had aggressively rounded 1st, than getting Perez, who crossed the plate....... Winky, however, threw wildly to Creek, and why he wasn't charged with an error, I'll never know....... Creek chased the ball down as Iribarren went full steam, rounding the corner home........ Creek's throw to the plate was wild, allowing Iribarren to give the Stars a 3-2 lead, their first of the 2007 season....... The crowd went wild.

 

But as you might expect on a night like this when everyone's anxious to get home and get warm, the game goes past nine.......... Grant Balfour, in his Stars debut, gave up a ground-hugging single to left to you guessed it, big Greg Creek in the 8th......... Holt, after one failed try to move him to 2nd on a bunt, moved him over with the second chance........ Balfour struck Lillibridge out swinging for the second out, but Brandon Jones, whose 3rd inning triple gave the Braves a 2-0 lead, singled solidly to center to tie the game......... Off to the relative warmth of the press box I went.

 

Now it was a contest between Luis Villareal, the indy leaguer for the past three seasons with a 21-18 record and 3.58 ERA in those three seasons and sometimes-shaky Joey Devine, who gave up two grand-slams in his first two major league appearances a year ago...... Villareal got a lucky break in the 9th, as a sharply hit ball by pinch-hitter Carl Lodenthal with runners on the corners freakily ricocheted off the mound, falling to a waiting Yohannis Perez, who smoothly started an inning-ending double play......... Devine retired Perez, Stocker, and Iribarren quickly in the 9th........ Now the clock-watching was over. It was time to cross your fingers and hope that this game wouldn't be too prolonged as the temperature dropped further down into the 40s.

 

Villareal retired the side in order in the 10th, making Holt and Lillibridge the 13th and 14 strikeout victims for the Stars........ Devine, in the bottom half, walked Sollmann on four pitches........Davenport hit a slow roller to short, enough to move Sollmann to 2nd.......... The tie-breaking run was now on 2nd with Guilder Rodriguez at the plate........ G-Rod hit a broken-bat roller soft enough to move Sollmann up and get him on first. Lillibridge didn't even bother making a play.

 

That left it up to Adam Heether, who had looked like the old Adam of last year according to voices in the press box, striking out in the 2nd and 8th, but patienly drawing walks in the 4th and 6th....... On Devine's 1-0 pitch, Heether lined the ball into no-man's land in left, giving the Stars their 3rd opening-day victory in four years........ The Stars are now 14-9 on Opening Day, 5-2 in openers that have gone extra-innings, and 6-3 in Milwaukee-era openers.

 

Friday, with a high during the day only to go up to 50°, left-hander JoJo Reyes will face Stars lefty Steve Hammond...... Reyes, a 2nd round pick by the Braves in 2003, is the 8th best prospect in their organization.

 

Pitcher Mark DiFelice, hoping for a quick trip to Nashville, has found board with WHNT meterologist Spencer Denton......... The Boosters are receiving calls from other families willing to host players.

 

Ryan Braun has driven in Nashville's first run of the year with a double, but the Sounds lost at Greer Stadium, where it started out at 47°, 4-1 to New Orleans......... Former Stars Alec Zumwalt, Dennis Sarfate, and Luther Hackman pitched in relief of starter Zach Jackson....... The Sounds had only one other hit -- a single by Drew Anderson.

 

Other than Joe Winkelsas, two other former Stars are playing for Southern League opponents this year: Enrique Cruz (Chattanooga) and Johnny Raburn (Carolina).

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2007040611

 

Brantley's triple propels Power to win

By Mike Whiteford

Charleston Gazette Staff Writer

 

As the cold evening wore on, West Virginia Power scoring opportunities were slipping away, and the folks in attendance were maintaining a steady trickle toward the exits.

 

On an opening night diminished by freezing temperatures and bitter winds, the Power compounded the unpleasantness by stranding too many runners through six innings. The fans simply surrendered to the cold.

 

Finally, Power left fielder Michael Brantley delivered the big hit that had been so elusive. With runners on first and second in the seventh inning, Brantley launched a triple deep into the right-center gap to break a tie and help the Power open the season with a 4-3 victory over Lake County at Appalachian Power Park.

 

A crowd of 3,642 attended but, in light of the conditions, the total decreased inning-by-inning, leaving only 500 or so to see Power closer Omar Aguilar strike out the side in the ninth to conclude the three-hour, 12-minute affair.

 

Brantley, a Florida native, didn?t like the weather but persevered.

 

?You have to take it like a man and go after ?em,?? he said.

 

Until Brantley?s blast, the Power had stranded nine runners in the previous five innings, including a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity in the sixth and a first-and-third, one-out situation in the second.

 

The weather may have played a part in both teams? inability to deliver in the clutch. The cold usually gives a slight edge to the pitchers, said Power pitching coach John Curtis.

 

?Everything from eyes watering to cold hands to whatever, it doesn?t do much good for the hitter,?? said Curtis. ?You always want to make solid contact on a night like this.??

 

A pitch off the bat handle, he noted, can be agonizing.

 

?I?ve seen guys have the bees stay with them for about four innings, and they?re reluctant to swing the bat,?? he said.

 

Brantley?s triple brought home Andrew Lefave and Andy Bouchie, each of whom had reached on a one-out single.

 

In the first inning, Lefave?s opposite-field two-run homer to left-center had given the Power a 2-1 lead.

 

Brantley, a .300 hitter in a full season with the Power last year, picked up where he left off, collecting a single, double and triple in four at-bats.

 

The two extra-base hits were especially encouraging, considering that 96 of his 108 hits last year were singles. But he was recovering from shoulder surgery in 2006 and not swinging at his best.

 

?The key is I?m completely healthy,?? said Brantley. ?I wasn?t fully healthy all year last year, and now that I?m healthy I can go back to my natural swing.??

 

Power starter Brae Wright pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed seven hits but did not walk a batter. Patrick Ryan followed with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Reliever E.J. Shanks pitched the seventh and eighth to pick up the victory.

 

?These are fairly trying conditions for both sides, hitters and pitchers,?? said Curtis, ?but I thought our guys pitched very well. They kept their wits about them when things threatened to come apart there. They did a nice job.??

 

POWER POINT: In the two previous openers at Appalachian Power Park, attendance was 5,354 in 2005 and 5,742 last year. Both nights were warm, but rain interrupted last year?s game. ... The wooden stand that Wheeler Bob occupies for his pregame program sales has an added touch this season. The words ?Wheeler Bob Friedman?s Program Stand,?? complete with the Power logo, are emblazoned across the front. Wheeler Bob has been selling programs and memorabilia at Charleston ballparks since 1973. ... A new two-tier party deck down the right-field line opened. It can accommodate about 250 fans and has its own concession stand.

 

Photos by Charleston Gazette Photographer: Chris Dorst

 

Andrew Lefave celebrates his first-inning home run with Chuckie Caufield, who scored ahead of him to give the Power a 2-1 lead.

 

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

 

Power shortstop Brent Brewer fails to catch a short fly ball, allowing a Lake County run in the third inning. No. 22 is second baseman Kenny Holmberg.

 

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

[Mass Haas]

Link for photo of Nestor Corredor while active, text follows:

 

www.floridatoday.com/apps...002/SPORTS

 

Cubs rain on Manatees' opener

BY JEFF NAVIN

FLORIDA TODAY

 

As is customary this time of the season, Derek Miller of the Brevard County Manatees had a pitch count Thursday night and ended up with a no decision as the Daytona Cubs spoiled the season opener for the Manatees in the Florida State League with an 8-3 victory.

 

The Cubs scored six runs in the final three innings to break a 2-2 tie.

 

"I thought Derek threw well," Brevard County manager John Tamargo said. "In the first couple of innings, he was a little excited out there. He threw a lot of pitches in that first inning. But he settled down and really changed speeds well after that."

 

Miller, a left-hander, gave up two runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked two. He was restricted to a pitch count of 85 and came out after throwing 81 pitches.

 

The Cubs scored a first-inning run on a controversial balk and extended their lead to 2-0 in the third inning as Tyler Colvin singled to right field, stole second and scored on a bloop single to right by Ryan Norwood.

 

Brevard County's Chris Errecart lined a solo home run to left field to left field in the third inning to whittle the Cubs' lead to 2-1. Charlie Fermaint's triple to center field in the fourth inning drove in Cole Gillespie, who had singled, to tie the game.

 

"I thought we swung the bats well," Tamargo said. "We hit the ball on the nose and we were aggressive at the plate. They just didn't fall in for us."

 

Matt Matulia's run-scoring double off the wall in center field in the seventh inning off reliever Josh Wahpepah gave Daytona a 3-2 lead, but it was a four-run uprising in the eighth which doomed the Manatees.

 

Nate Spears singled off left-handed reliever Rafael Lluberes to lead off the eighth, and Jim Adduci reached on a bunt single when second baseman Ryan Crew was late in covering first base on the play. Two batters later, reliever David Johnson gave up a two-run single to Jesus Valdez. Matulia added a two-run single off Johnson later in the inning to break open the game."

 

"(The bunt play) was just a mental lapse," Tamargo said. "These are good players. We just looked a half-step behind all night. We've got to pick up the speed more and move forward."

 

Errecart drove in a run with an infield grounder to account for the Manatees' final run in the ninth inning.

 

The two teams will play again at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central) today at Space Coast Stadium. Former Notre Dame standout wide receiver Jeff Samardzija will pitch for the Cubs. Will Inman will start for the Manatees.

 

Tamargo has returned to manage the Manatees after a one-year stint as manager of the Triple-A Durham Bulls in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. The 55-year-old former major league catcher with the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Montreal Expos had the unenviable task of managing minor-league standout outfielders Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes, who both thought they should have been playing for the Devil Rays rather than toiling in the minor leagues.

 

"The players at this level (Single-A Manatees) need to go out and play and try to learn," Tamargo said. "We want to help them develop a good character. Character is important and the Brewers want guys who play with enthusiasm and want to learn how to play. . . . I've been in baseball 34 years, and things definitely have changed. And, some of it has not been for the better. Our job is to get things going in the right direction."

 

Fred Dabney, who played 11 seasons in the minor leagues for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees organizations, is entering his third season as the pitching coach for the Manatees. This will be his seventh season as a minor league pitching coach and his fourth season in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

 

Ken Berry has joined the Milwaukee Brewers organization and will be the hitting coach for Brevard County. Berry played in the major leagues from 1962 to 1975 with the Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians.

 

Berry was a gold glove outfielder in 1970 and 1972. His best batting average for a season was 1972 when he hit .289 for the Angels. During his career, he had a combined 22 hits in 79 at-bats (.278) against Hall of Fame pitchers Catfish Hunter, Gaylord Perry and Nolan Ryan.

 

"We want to teach as much as we can," said Berry, who will turn 66 on May 10. "I hope to get our hitters to use the whole field. . . . Hitting is balance and timing. I can recognize when something is off. Some instructors need to break it down with video, and some kids can see it and figure it out better that way. Everyone is different."

 

Berry, who played most of his career in the 1960s when pitchers had a decided advantage with a higher pitching mound, was known for his ability to time his leap near the outfield wall to rob hitters of home runs. He also had to make a difficult decision to play professional baseball rather than join the old American Football League where he was coveted as a wide receiver.

 

"We didn't fraternize with the other teams in those days," Berry said. "I didn't take (batting) tips and I didn't talk to players from the other team. But now I wish that I had had the brains to talk to Al Kaline about hitting. Nowadays, guys from both teams stand around the batting cage and talk. I guess they're able to turn it on and off."

 

The Florida State League definitely will test a player's love for the sport. Despite playing most games at night, the heat and humidity will be tiring for even the most physically fit of the Manatees.

 

"The biggest jump is from Single-A to Double-A ball," Tamargo said. "The biggest challenge is at the next level. That's the best part about this job -- seeing guys improve to step up and how they handle the next level. If they handle that, then we've done our job."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=55532

 

Sounds open year 30 at Greer with a loss

By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent

 

Happy 30th birthday, Greer Stadium.

 

The big blue dinosaur of a ballpark opened its 30th season of baseball Thursday amid behind-the-scenes posturing by Sounds management, the city of Nashville and Baltimore developer Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse over the construction of a new riverfront ballpark.

 

A new stadium seems less and less likely, but the Nashville Sounds opened up their season at the old standby anyway. The game ended with Nashville taking a 4-1 loss to New Orleans in front of 4,297 fans at Greer.

 

The Sounds managed just two hits on a frosty April evening with temperatures in the 30s.

 

?It?s not the way you want to start the year off, but we know what we?ve got [talent-wise],? Sounds first baseman Brad Nelson said. ?It?s not like we?re going to read into it too much.?

 

Nashville?s first hit came in the second inning when top offensive prospect Ryan Braun made a memorable Music City debut by smashing a double off the wall in right field.

 

Braun went on to score on a throwing error by Zephyrs catcher Mike DiFelice to give the Sounds a shortly-lived 1-0 lead. That was the only offensive noise the Sounds made all night.

 

A fair amount of the credit goes to New Orleans starter Phillip Humber, who made his Triple A debut. Humber went five innings, but allowed just one hit. Reliever Jose Santiago followed with three perfect innings.

 

?Humber did real well,? Nelson said. ?He had a sharp curveball. We hung in there. We didn?t look bad up there. We just couldn?t get any hits and any rally started.?

 

Sounds starter Zach Jackson wasn?t lackluster exactly, but allowed six hits and two earned runs over 4.1 innings.

 

New Orleans got to Jackson with a run in the third to tie the game. The Zephyrs took the lead with another in the fourth then added insurance runs in the fifth and ninth.

 

Nashville didn?t manage its second hit until the ninth when Drew Anderson notched a single. The Sounds only had seven baserunners all game.

 

Dickey returns to Nashville: Montgomery Bell Academy alum R.A. Dickey will return to Music City as a member of the home team when he takes the ball as the Sounds? starting pitcher on Saturday.

 

Tim Dillard will get the start tonight and Chris Oxspring gets the nod on Sunday.

 

Parking lot trimmed down: Prime parking spots in the main lot in front of Greer Stadium were fenced off and won?t be available to Sounds fans, because of construction of a visitors center for adjacent Fort Negley.

[Mass Haas]

Photo Slideshow from the Tennessean of the Sounds' Opening Night:

 

tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....s=Itemnr=1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Sounds start season off cold

Nashville gets only one run, two hits in loss to New Orleans

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

It was a cold opening night ? in more ways than one ? Thursday for the Nashville Sounds.

 

Managing just one hit through the first six innings, the Sounds lost 4-1 to New Orleans.

 

With a 43-degree temperature limiting the Greer Stadium crowd to 4,297, Nashville lost its season opener for the second straight year and fell to 14-16 all-time in openers ? and to 20-10 in home openers.

 

"In Arizona we played in warmer weather," said third baseman Ryan Braun, who scored Nashville's only run after doubling in his first Class AAA at-bat. "We haven't had too many at-bats in this; we're trying to adjust. But everybody's got to deal with it."

 

Braun's second-inning leadoff double and a throwing error by New Orleans catcher Mike DiFelice, a former Vol, were all the offense the Sounds managed against starter Philip Humber.

 

The No. 3 pick overall in the 2004 draft by the Mets worked around some trouble in the fourth inning but otherwise held Nashville in check. Relievers Jose Santiago (three hitless innings) and Lino Urbaneta combined to allow just one hit over the final four innings.

 

"He threw his breaking ball for strikes, and that makes your fastball that much better," Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said of Humber. "He did a good job of mixing it up and making pitches when he needed to."

 

Zach Jackson allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits over 4 1/3 innings to take the loss.

 

"I made some quality pitches; I was happy with that," Jackson said. "But I may have been a little too aggressive. On a couple of 3-2 (counts), they got some big hits. They had a couple of balls here and there that got through. There's not much you can do about it."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Stars get extra credit

Heether's single in 10th gives Huntsville win

By BRAD SHEPARD

For The Huntsville Times

 

The pitchers' arms are still loosening. The fielding isn't as sharp as normal.

 

Good thing for the Huntsville Stars, their clutch hitting was in midseason form against the Mississippi Braves on opening night Thursday.

 

Adam Heether ripped a solid single down the left-field line to score Steve Sollman in the bottom of the 10th as the Stars pulled out a 4-3 thriller in front of an announced crowd of 2,128 at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

Former Atlanta Braves first-round draft pick Joey Devine took the loss after walking Sollman, giving up a Guilder Rodriguez infield hit and allowing Heether's game-winner.

 

"A perfect way to start the season," Heether said. "Wins like that bring you together as a team."

 

A handful of bright spots was enough for Huntsville on a chilly night when neither team looked particularly strong offensively.

 

The Stars and Braves combined for 26 strikeouts, and nobody came close to hitting one out of the park.

 

That said, Steve Moss was excellent. The Stars center fielder went 3-for-4 with an RBI and ignited the offense all night.

 

"The way I started is how I want to finish," Moss said. "I just want to keep this mind-set.

 

"We didn't hit up to our capabilities tonight, but what we did do is have timely hits, and that wins games."

 

Leadoff hitter Hernan Iribarren drove in the game-tying run in the seventh and sped around the bases on a throwing error by Mark Jurich for the go-ahead run. Iribarren got hung up between first and second after the hit and would have been picked off, but Jurich's throw one-hopped and the race began.

 

A good throw from shallow right could have gotten Iribarren at home, but it also bounced as he slid in safely.

 

"He ran through a stop sign," Stars manager Don Money said. "He's a dead duck at the plate."

 

The Braves came right back in the eighth off Grant Balfour when Brandon Jones blooped a two-out single to center to score Greg Creek and tie the game 3-all.

 

Huntsville's final comeback took the umpires off the hook from a controversial call in the sixth. After the Stars loaded the bases down 2-1 with two outs, Lou Palmisano sent a weak grounder to shortstop.

 

Moss hustled from first, though, and appeared to narrowly beat the throw from Brent Lillibridge on what should have been an easy force play. Moss was called out to the dismay of the Stars and stood several seconds on second base in disbelief.

 

The hustle play could have tied the game but instead ended the inning.

 

"Oh, Moss was safe, no doubt," Money said.

 

None of that wound up mattering.

 

The game started with a flourish for the Braves and 21-year-old pitching prospect Matt Harrison, who'd wowed Atlanta Braves brass in spring training a month ago.

 

He pitched five strong innings, and Huntsville starter Adam Pettyjohn countered with seven strikeouts in four innings of his own.

 

Pettyjohn ran into trouble in the third when leadoff hitter J.C. Holt got things going for Mississippi, singling to center. He stole second and came home on another single by Lillibridge, who scored easily on Jones' triple to give the Braves a 2-0 lead.

 

The Stars got one in the fourth and continued to fight back all night.

 

"Just a great job," Money said, "all the way around."

[Kraft4a3]

Did anyone else forget the Brewers still had Brad Nelson in the system? Totally forgot about the former Minor League player of the year until I checked the box scores.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/story/S...defensive/

 

Despite victory, Power will need to get defensive

Jacob Messer

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

West Virginia Power Manager Mike Guerrero didn't need to say a word to his players Thursday to make his point after their often-atrocious-but-ultimately-victorious Opening Night effort against Lake County.

 

All he had to do was show them his T-shirt, one of the many layers of clothing he wore under his jersey to stay warm on a chilly, windy and, at times, snowy night at Appalachian Power Park.

 

On the front, over his heart, it read: "No errors."

 

On the back, in the middle, just below his shoulders, it read: "Defense wins championships."

 

Two timely hits saved the Power from three errors -- it would have been four if the scorekeeper hadn't given a player the benefit of the doubt on a questionable call -- against the Captains.

 

West Virginia (1-0) hung on for a 4-3 South Atlantic League win over Lake County (0-1).

 

Andrew LeFave hit a two-out, two-run homer in the first inning and Michael Brantley hit a two-out, two-run triple in the seventh inning to account for all of the Power's scoring.

 

Brantley, whose triple snapped a 2-2 tie, was 3-for-4 and would have hit for the cycle if he would have hit a homer.

 

"I just go out there and try to hit the ball hard," Brantley said. "Wherever it ends up, it ends up. If it's a single, double, triple, homer, it doesn't matter."

 

LeFave was 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs and two RBI. The left-hander battled Lake County starter Carlton Smith to a full count during a 10-pitch at-bat in which he fouled off four do-or-die pitches before he smashed an opposite-field shot over the left-center field fence.

 

LeFave said a pre-game chat with Power hitting coach Corey Hart prepared him for that at-bat.

 

"We discussed what that pitcher's plan was for the day," LeFave said. "He really works away to a lot of guys. He threw pretty straight and his velocity was all right.

 

"What I was trying to do was keep my hands inside the baseball and go which way the pitch takes me.

 

"It was nice that we had that chat before the game because I knew he was going to go away. He left it up a little bit. I just threw my hands and got my barrel on the ball and it took off. I wasn't trying to hit a home run. I was just trying to put the ball in play and hit it in the gaps."

 

Credit the Power pitchers for persevering through a tumultuous game in which their teammates often let them down in the field and at the plate.

 

Starter Brae Wright (seven hits and two runs in 4 1/3 innings) and reliever Patrick Ryan (two hits and no runs in 1 2/3 innings) got the Power through the first six innings.

 

Reliever E.J. Shanks and closer Omar Aguilar did the rest. Shanks pitched the seventh and eighth innings, yielding one unearned run on no hits and two walks, to record the win. Aguilar struck out the side in the ninth inning to get the save.

 

"Our pitching staff was the star for the night," Guerrero said.

 

In addition to its errors, West Virginia stranded 10 runners and finished with 14 strikeouts.

 

"We had a lot of opportunities to blow the game away," Guerrero said. "But you have to tip your hat to them. They made great pitches when they needed to."

 

No one had a worse night than Power shortstop Brent Brewer, a 2006 second-round draft pick who had no hits and three strikeouts in five at-bats. He also had a hand in all of the Captains' runs.

 

His first-inning throwing error and eighth-inning fielding error -- both on grounders -- allowed runners to score from second base. He made another miscue -- the aforementioned questionable call -- in the third inning when he misjudged a shallow popup. The ball fell to the ground untouched, again allowing a runner to score from second base.

 

"When teams don't execute the little things, that's when they get into trouble," Guerrero said. "But give credit to the kids. We have a lot of young guys and we are inexperienced and we are going to make mistakes. But we battled out there."

 

POWER POINTS: The teams will play the second of their three-game series at 7:05 tonight (6:05 Central). Lake County will start right-hander Steve Wright. West Virginia will throw right-hander Mike McClendon. ... Thursday's official attendance was 3,642, the smallest crowd for a home opener at the three-year-old stadium. West Virginia drew 5,354 for its 2005 home opener and 5,742 for its 2006 home opener.

 

Charleston Daily Mail Photo: Craig Cunningham

Lake County?s Roman Pena is out at second as the West Virginia Power?s Kenny Holmberg makes a throw for a failed attempt at a double play in the fourth inning of the season opener on Thursday night at Appalachian Power Park.

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/Opener0406.jpg