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July 27, 2010
SalemSox.com
Salem, VA - Zeke Spruill exacted some revenge from an early season start against the Red Sox, blanking Salem over five innings, as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans knocked off the Red Sox 5-2 at Lewis-Gale Field Tuesday night.
Spruill picked up his first win of the season, and gave the Pelicans just their third win in 16 attempts against the Sox all year.
In his first start against the Sox back on April 16, Spruill was blasted for nine runs on 12 hits in just 3.1 innings and didn't pitch again until a relief appearance against Salem in early July.
This time things were different, as Spruill kept the Sox off balance through five innings, scattering five singles while striking out one in his outing.
Cory Harrilchak and Dan Nelson provided the pop in support of Spruill, as the duo doubled with one out in the first to put the Pelicans up 1-0.
Harrilchak brought home the second run of the game for Myrtle in the third on his second double of the game, but was not credited with an RBI due to a throwing error by Mitch Dening, allowing the run to score.
After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Harrilchak scored on a sacrifice fly by Mike Jones to put the Birds up 3-0 after three.
Harrilchak and Nelson were in the middle of things again in the fifth, as Nelson singled in Harrilchak, who had doubled with two outs, to put Myrtle up 4-0.
After leading off the sixth with a double, Pelican first baseman Mike Jones stole third and scampered home as third baseman Will Middlebrooks missed the throw from catcher Tim Federowicz that wound up in left field, increasing the Birds' cushion to 5-0.
Tyrelle Harris built upon Spuill's success with three perfect innings, retiring all nine batters he faced, including four strikeouts.
Salem attempted a rally in the last of the ninth off reliever Tommy Palica, as Drew Hedman doubled home two runs to break up the shutout, but Ryan Dent grounded out with the tying run on deck to end the contest.
Sox starter Stolmy Pimentel wasn't as sharp as his last two outings, as the righthander gave up four runs on six hits in five innings while falling to 6-8 on the year.
Dent and Middlebrooks were the lone Salem batters with multiple hits on a night where the Sox mustered just one extra base knock, the ninth-inning double from Hedman.
The Sox will look to avoid their first series loss of the year to the Pelicans in the rubber match of the three-game set Wednesday night.
Miguel Gonzalez looks for his fifth win of the year against Myrtle's Brett Oberholtzer, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.
July 27, 2010
Lynchburg-Hillcats.com
Lynchburg matched their season-high with nine runs in a 9-3 win over Frederick on Tuesday night at Harry Grove Stadium.
With the aid of a pair of errors, Lynchburg started early again with a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
Frederick responded though with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 advantage. Billy Rowell and Buck Britton both singled in a run with two outs in the inning.
The Hillcats would tie the game in the third inning with an RBI groundout by Denis Phipps. An inning later they tacked on three more runs to take a 5-2 lead.
Kevin Coddington singled in run and Josh Fellhauer and Brodie Greene both hit sacrifice flies in the frame.
The Cats weren't done though, as they followed their three-run fourth inning with a four-run fifth inning to make it a 9-2 contest.
Frederick would plate a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to close out the scoring. Britton drove-in his second run of the ballgame with a sacrifice fly.
The win went to starter Chase Ware (1-2) for Lynchburg (14-17, 43-58) and the loss went to starter Ryan Berry (2-2) for Frederick (15-16, 56-45).
Ware picked up his first win at the Advanced-A level and his first win as a starter this season.
The Hillcats go for the series sweep on Wednesday night in a 7:00 p.m. start at Harry Grove Stadium.
Right-hander Lance Janke (3-8, 6.66) will get the call for the Cats opposite righty Oliver Drake (2-5, 4.62) for the Keys.
July 26, 2010
HokieSports.com
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Virginia Tech was the choice of the media assembled for the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff to win the ACC's Coastal Division and defeat Florida State for the 2010 ACC Football Championship in voting which was announced Monday at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro.
A record number of ballots were cast at the Kickoff with 98 media members voting.
Virginia Tech was chosen on 50 ballots to win its fourth ACC football title in just its seventh year in the league.
Florida State finished second with 26 votes, followed by Miami (10), Georgia Tech (8), Boston College (2) and North Carolina (2).
The Hokies were tabbed to win the ACC's Coastal Division with 532 points and 62 first-place votes outdistancing Miami (444 points, 20 first-place votes), Georgia Tech (408), North Carolina (379), Duke (169) and Virginia (126).
Florida State compiled 565 points and 78 first-place votes to claim the Atlantic Division title over Clemson (479), Boston College (389), NC State (283), Wake Forest (203) and Maryland (139).
Virginia Tech was previously chosen as the preseason ACC gridiron favorite in 2007 and 2009. The Hokies captured the 2007 ACC title, but finished in the Coastal Division second to ACC champion Georgia Tech last year.
Florida State senior quarterback Christian Ponder, who led the ACC in total offense in 2009 (321.8) after nine games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, was a runaway selection as the ACC's Preseason Player of the Year.
Ponder garnered 45 votes to finish ahead of Virginia Tech tailback Ryan Williams (16) and quarterback Tyrod Taylor (11), NC State senior quarterback Russell Wilson (6) and North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn (6). In all, 12 ACC players received votes for ACC Preseason Player of the Year, including Tech's Darren Evans.
July 26, 2010
SalemSox.com
Salem, VA (July 26, 2010)- Mitch Dening tied a season-high with four base hits and recorded two outfield assists, including cutting down a runner at the plate in the fifth inning, as the Salem Red Sox defeated the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 5-4 in front of 4,219 fans at Lewis-Gale Field on Monday night.
The victory was the 13th in 15 games for the Sox against their South Carolina rivals.
Dening's four hits included a leadoff double in the bottom of the first that sparked a three-run rally to overcome an early 1-0 deficit.
Three batters later, Will Middlebrooks drove in Dening to knot the game at one. Still with two outs, Middlebrooks came home on a Tim Federowicz single, while Alex Hassan, who had walked with two away, scored on a double from Dan Butler to put Salem up 3-1 after one.
After Jordan Kreke's RBI single in the third brought the Birds to within 3-2, Dening played a key role in another rally with his third hit of the game in the fourth. The Sox right fielder singled with two outs to move Jon Hee to second, and Peter Hissey came through with a single to right to score Hee and put the Sox up 4-2.
Dening's fine night extended to his defense. With two outs in the fifth and Dan Nelson on first, former Salem Sock Mike Jones doubled off the wall in right.
Dening originally misjudged the ricochet off the wall, but recovered by unleashing a cannon to the plate to nab Nelson trying to score for the final out of the frame.
The Australia-native also threw Nelson out in the seventh, as the Pelican third baseman attempted to extend a single into a double but was denied on a perfect strike from Dening in right.
Luis Sumoza singled home Kreke in the sixth to bring Myrtle back within one, but the Sox responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth off Pelican reliever Paul Clemens to regain their two-run advantage.
Clemens unleashed three wild pitches in the frame, the second of which scored Dening, who had reached on an error with one out.
Kreke scored his second run of the game on a sac fly in the eighth, but the Pelicans could get no closer, as Pat Ryan worked in and out of trouble in the final 1.2 innings, eventually stranding the tying run in the ninth at second. Ryan recorded his first save of the season in the process.
Dening's four-hit effort led the Sox' 12-hit attack and increased his average eight points from .286 to .294. Hissey, Federowicz and Butler all recorded two-hit games and drove in one run apiece.
Caleb Clay was solid for the Sox en route to his fourth victory of the year. Clay went five and a third innings, yielding three runs on nine hits, while striking out three and walking just one.
The Sox and Pelicans continue their three game set at Lewis-Gale Field Tuesday at 7:05 PM.
Stolmy Pimentel, coming off back-to-back seven inning starts, will look to continue his impressive streak against Myrtle's Zeke Spruill.
July 26, 2010
Lynchburg-Hillcats.com
Lynchburg homered four times in a game for the first time this season en route to a 7-4 victory at Frederick. Neftali Soto smacked a three-run homer in the first and now leads the team with 15 homers and 54 RBI.
The Hillcats wasted no time jumping all over the Keys with a five-run first inning. The first five Cats that came to the plate all got hits and all scored. Neftali Soto started the scoring with a three-run home run.
It was his team-leading 15th of the season and it was his first three-run shot of the campaign. After a single by Denis Phipps, Chris Richburg followed with a two-run homer, his first as a Hillcat to make it a 5-0 game with still no outs recorded in the ballgame.
In the third inning the Green & Gold added to their lead with another long ball, this one a solo shot by Phipps, his fifth dinger in 12 games with the Hillcats.
That homer gave Phipps seven straight hits, which tied Pedro Powell for the most consecutive hits in Hillcats history.
The Keys plated their first run of the evening in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single by Kyle Hudson to make it 6-1.
With the bases loaded later in that inning with one out, Billy Rowell hit a sharply hit ground ball down the third base line that appeared to be headed into the left field corner. But Shane Carlson made a diving stop, got to his feet, stepped on third base and threw to first in time for the inning ending double play.
The next half inning Carlson started things off by hitting his first homer as a Cat to up the lead to 7-1.
Frederick got back within striking distance in the bottom of the seventh inning with three runs to pull within three at 7-4.
Bobby Stevens, Xavier Avery and Hudson had three straight doubles to plate a pair of runs and chase Hillcats starter James Avery from the contest. Ronnie Welty singled in another run in the inning to finish the scoring in the frame and on the night.
The win went to Avery (6-3) and the save was notched by Donnie Joseph (11) for Lynchburg (13-17, 42-58) and the loss went to starter Nathan Moreau (3-1) for Frederick (15-15, 56-44).
The Hillcats will look for their fourth straight win on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Harry Grove Stadium.
Right-hander Chase Ware (0-2, 3.66) will get the call for the Cats opposite righty Ryan Berry (2-1, 2.67) scheduled to start for the Keys.
July 26, 2010
DBraves.com
BRISTOL, Va. - The Danville Braves gave up two runs in the ninth, but took them right back in the tenth for the win over the Bristol White Sox, 11-9.
With their third-straight win tonight, the D-Braves are now in sole possession of first place in the Appalachian League East at 19-15. The loss drops Bristol to 13-21 on the season, and keeps them in last in the West.
Bristol jumped out an early lead, recording three runs in the first two innings thanks to a throwing error that scored left fielder Jordan Keegan, a wild pitch by Braves starting pitcher Aaron Northcraft, and an RBI single by second baseman Drew Lee.
Down 3-0, Danville came steaming back with four tallies of their own in the top of the third inning.
Extra-base excellence drove in three runs before the first out was recorded, starting off with a double that put right fielder David Rohm in scoring position.
A double by left fielder Kenny Fleming drove both the runs in, before he crossed home plate himself on a triple by center fielder Jason Mowry. A sacrifice fly by Andrelton Simmons drove the final run in before Bristol ended the inning.
Righty Northcraft finished out his five-inning appearance by shutting down the White Sox after the second, ending the outing with two earned runs on eight hits, with two strike outs.
The D-Braves upped their lead to 8-4 by the end of the sixth, recording another four runs in the top half of the inning.
First baseman Joey Terdoslavich got the Danville scoring started with a double to right field that scored catcher Evan Gattis and advanced designated hitter Ryan Delgado to third.
Rohm added a tally during the next at-bat when his single to right scored Delgado. A single and stolen base by second baseman Elmer Reyes finished the sixth-inning damage by the Braves.
Bristol tacked on a run of their own in the sixth on a catching error by shortstop Andrelton Simmons that allowed Lee to score, but another Danville run in the seventh left the White Sox trailing by a score of 9-4 through the seventh.
The White Sox made it a game in the eighth, narrowing the gap to 9-7 on an RBI single by Lee, and two-RBI single by first baseman John Spatola. A fielding error by Terdoslavich in the ninth drove the ballgame into extra innings when two more Bristol base-runners crossed home plate.
Reeling from a single-game season high six errors, D-Braves bats came to the rescue and closer Kyle Mertins took hold of the White Sox offense in the tenth and final inning.
Batting just under .500 at the end of the home stand, Danville third baseman Barrett Kleinknecht once again stepped up when needed, driving in two go-ahead runs on a single to left. Leading by two, Mertins shut down the side to give the Braves their third-straight win.
As the pitcher of record when the Braves took the lead, relief pitcher Matthew Suschak got the win for the night, finishing his two-inning outing with three strike outs, having allowed five runs, three earned, on five hits.
Mertins was credited with his fourth save of the season. Bristol closer Kevin Moran took the loss after pitching in the tenth, giving up one earned run on two hits with a strike out.
Leading the Braves at the plate tonight was outfielder Rohm, who finished the night at 4-6, with two runs scored and an RBI. Lee was the main contributor for Bristol's offense, going 3-5 with two runs and two RBIs as well.
Game two of the series begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 27.
Right-hander Ryan Weber will be on the mound for the Braves as they look to extend their winning streak, and lead of the East.
Danville rounds out its series with Bristol on July 28, and will open the second half of its road trip on July 29 with a three-game series at Princeton.
The team will return on Aug. 1 to kick off their second series of the season with the Bluefield Orioles.
Featured in the short three-game home stand is Sylvan Learning Center Hit the Books Night and Dollar Dog Monday on Aug. 2, followed by KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets on Aug. 3.
Fans can follow all Braves play-by-play action for home games on WMNA 106.3 FM or on the Braves' website at www.dbraves.com.
