Monthly Archives: September, 2009

Lynchburg CF Jose De Los Santos is not a particularly big guy -- he's listed at 5' 11'' and 160 pounds. �But he's huge in Lynchburg tonight. �The speedy De Los Santos had stolen 53 bases this season, and was caught stealing only 8 times, but power was not his forte. �He had 5 doubles and 6 triples this season, but no home runs. �No homers last season either, when he split his time between Hickory and Lynchburg. �In fact, he'd had only one homer in his career -- until tonight. �In the bottom of the 9th inning, with the score tied at 4-4, and two outs, Jose De Los Santos lifted a long, high fly ball over the left field wall for his first home run of the season, giving the Hillcats the walk-off win. �

Salem had cracked the scoreboard first. �Hillcats' starter Rudy Owens�allowed only one single over the first two innings, but gave up a solo home run to SS Ryan Dent in the 3rd inning. �

The "Cardiac 'Cats answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th. �DH Kris Watts led off with a double lined off the right field wall. �He moved to third base when 1B Matt Hague grounded out. �LF Alex Presley walked to put runners on the corners with two outs. �CF Jose De Los Santos bounced back to the mound, but Salem pitcher Stephen Fife's throw to first base was high, and 1B Tony Rizzo had to leap to make the catch. �He had not yet come back to earth when De Los Santos crossed the bag, so De Los Santos was safe and Kris Watts crossed the plate with the tying run. �2B Chase d'Arnaud followed with a double smacked into left field, scoring both Presley and De Los Santos, to give the Hillcats a 3-1 lead. �

Rudy Owens held the Red Sox to just two singles over the middle three innings. �Both of those came in the 6th, and one was erased with a double play. �Owens gave up a walk to begin the 7th inning, then got a strikeout. �At that point, he was relieved by Noah Krol. �Krol gave up a single to the first batter he faced, and a 3-run home run to the next batter he faced, LF Chih-Hsien Chiang. �After a strikeout and a throwing error that put another runner on base, Krol induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning, but Salem had taken a 4-3 lead. �

The Hillcats threatened in the 8th inning. �Jason Blackey took the mound for Salem, and he began with back-to-back walks to Chase d'Arnaud and 3B Josh Harrison. �SS Jordy Mercer dropped down a bunt right in front of the plate, and the ball got lost between the Salem catcher's legs -- everyone was safe. �Blackey walked RF Jamie Romak with the bases loaded, forcing in the tying run. �Blackey was relieved by Kyle Fernandes, who struck out Kris Watts and got C Tony Sanchez to bounce into a double play, ending the threat. �

Ronald Uviedo came on to pitch the 9th for Lynchburg. �He retired the side in order, with one strikeout. �That set up the bottom of the 9th, and gave Jose De Los Santos the opportunity to be the big hero. �The Hillcats' radio announcers said that Salem pitcher Fernandes stood on the mound stunned and gaping at De Los Santos as he circled the bases.

The Hillcats and the Red Sox move on to Salem for the next game of the series, which will be played on Thursday. �

NOTES:

The Pirates opened camp for Fall Instructional League in Bradenton today. �As reported by Jen Langosh on the Pirates' site, this will be a two-part camp. �Phase I is for the more advanced members of the organization: � (not a complete list at all)

LHP Daniel Moskos, OF Jose Tabata, SS Brian Friday -- will do Instrux for a few weeks, then go on to the Arizona Fall League

SS/2B Chase d'Arnaud -- will get to Instrux as soon as the Hillcats finish up in the playoffs, then he will move on to the AFL also

SS Jordy Mercer, RHP Bryan Morris, LHP Rudy Owens -- will also get to Instrux when the Hillcats finish

OF Starling Marte, SS Jarek Cunningham, 1B Jeff Clement -- working back from injuries

OF Gorkys Hernandez, INF Shelby Ford, OF Robbie Grossman, RHP Tim Alderson, etc -- �will get a few weeks of Instrux time

Then Phase II will be the newer players, and that is scheduled to start on Sept 30th. �This will include most of the 2009 draft picks, even C Tony Sanchez. �3B Pedro Lopez is also expected to be there after his Team USA/World Cup experience, as he is scheduled to begin a mucho serious workout program.

Brad Lincoln allowed one earned run after 7 scoreless innings to take the win over Japan this afternoon in Italy. �Lincoln�scattered 6 hits, no walks and struck out 5 batters over 7.1 innings, and needed 93 pitches (67 strikes) to get the work done. �Team USA scored their 4 runs on only 4 hits, while Japan recorded 9 hits but only 2 runs.

Lincoln began the game by striking out the side in the top of the 1st inning. �He gave up a lone single in each of the next two innings and worked around a lead-off double in the 4th, without letting that runner move off second base. �He gave up two singles in the 6th, and a throwing error by 3B Pedro Alvarez put a runner on third. �The next batter lined out to center field, though, and it became a double play when the runner from third was tagged out at the plate on the throw in from CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) to C Jason Castro (Astros). �Another double play erased a base runner in the 7th inning, after Lincoln hit a batter with a pitch.

Team USA put a base runner on in each of the first two innings, including a double by Pedro Alvarez in the 2nd inning. �Both of those runners were left stranded. �The US batters got things going in the 3rd inning. �With one out, SS Trevor Plouffe (Twins) walked on 5 pitches. �1B Justin Smoak (Rangers), who had 2 homers yesterday, added another home run to his tally with a 2-run blast over the left field wall. �Moments later, DH Terry Tiffee (Phillies) added a solo home run to left center, chasing Japan's starter Hiroyuki Kamegawa, and giving Team USA a 3-0 lead. �

Trevor Plouffe gave the Americans another run in the 7th inning. �2B Tug Hulett (Royals) walked and stole second base, which put him into scoring position for Plouffe. �Plouffe ripped a double into right field, and Hulett came around to score. �USA 4, Japan 0.

Japan got onto the scoreboard in the 8th inning. �Pinch hitter Shoh Aranami opened the inning with a ground-rule double off Brad Lincoln. �A ground out moved Aranami to third base, and that was all for Lincoln. �Ehren Wassermann (White Sox) relieved Lincoln, but the first batter he faced, CF Ikuhiro Kiyota, doubled into right field, and Aranami scored, with the run charged to Lincoln. �

Cedric Bowers (Phillies) came on to pitch the top of the 9th inning. �He faced only one batter, DH Keiji Ikebe, who singled. �Reliever Nate Field (Marlins) took over for Bowers, and his wild pitch put Ikebe on second base. �Field got a strikeout and an infield pop out, but then gave up an RBI double to pinch hitter GO Yamaoka, which brought in Ikebe with Japan's second run. �That was all they would get, though, as Field ended the game with a fly out.

Team USA and Team Japan had both gone 2-1 in the first round of the tournament. �Team USA has now won 3 games in Round 2, while Japan is 2-1 in the second round.

Team USA has tomorrow off. �They will resume play against Taipei on Thursday. �Japan has the make-up game against Taipei tomorrow. �

Former Pirates' farmhand Paul Mildren suffered the loss as Taipei beat Australia in extra innings tonight. �Both teams were held to just 5 hits, and three of the Australian hits came off the bat of former Indy Indian LF Chris Snelling. �

Taipei scored first, with a lead off home run in the bottom of the 2nd inning by CF Ken-Wei Lin. �(Five members of the Taipei starting line up, plus a relief pitcher and a DH substitute all have the surname "Lin"). �The Australians came right back in the top of the 3rd to tie the score. �With two outs, CF Nicholas Kimpton walked, 2B Brad Harman singled to move Kimpton to third base. �Chris Snelling brought Kimpton in with an RBI single into right field. �

Things were quiet over the middle innings, as both teams had 9 straight batters retired in order. �Australia threatened in the 8th inning, when Nicholas Kimpton hit a one-out double down the left field line, and Chris Snelling singled. �Kimpton rounded third and headed for home, but he was cut down at the plate on the throw in from right field. �

Paul Mildren came on to pitch for the Australians in the bottom of the 8th. �He retired 6 batters in order, including 3 strikeouts. �But the Australians also went down in order in the 9th, and the game went into extra innings. �(Remember the international rules for extra innings.)

Australia began the 10th inning with SS James Beresford on second base and Nicholas Kimpton on first base. �Brad Harmon dropped down a bunt, but the Taipei pitcher threw wildly to first base, and Beresford was able to score. �With runners on second and third, Chris Snelling smacked his third hit of the game into center field, scoring Kimpton from third. �Snelling was out at second base on the throw in from center. �3B Luke Hughes scored Harman with a sacrifice fly, and Australia had taken a 4-1 lead.

Taipei did not let the lead last for long. �LF Tai-Yung Kuo was placed on second base and 1B Chia-Hao Chang on first. �3B Chih-Hsiang Lin sacrificed the runners up 90 feet, and a fielding error on Taipei's Lin Han's grounder by SS James Beresford allowed both to score. �Lin Han was still on base when DH Hung-Yu Lin hit a walk-off 2-run homer to give the win to Taipei. �

Lynchburg CF Jose De Los Santos is not a particularly big guy -- he's listed at 5' 11'' and 160 pounds. �But he's huge in Lynchburg tonight. �The speedy De Los Santos had stolen 53 bases this season, and was caught stealing only 8 times, but power was not his forte. �He had 5 doubles and 6 triples this season, but no home runs. �No homers last season either, when he split his time between Hickory and Lynchburg. �In fact, he'd had only one homer in his career -- until tonight. �In the bottom of the 9th inning, with the score tied at 4-4, and two outs, Jose De Los Santos lifted a long, high fly ball over the left field wall for his first home run of the season, giving the Hillcats the walk-off win. �

Salem had cracked the scoreboard first. �Hillcats' starter Rudy Owens�allowed only one single over the first two innings, but gave up a solo home run to SS Ryan Dent in the 3rd inning. �

The "Cardiac 'Cats answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th. �DH Kris Watts led off with a double lined off the right field wall. �He moved to third base when 1B Matt Hague grounded out. �LF Alex Presley walked to put runners on the corners with two outs. �CF Jose De Los Santos bounced back to the mound, but Salem pitcher Stephen Fife's throw to first base was high, and 1B Tony Rizzo had to leap to make the catch. �He had not yet come back to earth when De Los Santos crossed the bag, so De Los Santos was safe and Kris Watts crossed the plate with the tying run. �2B Chase d'Arnaud followed with a double smacked into left field, scoring both Presley and De Los Santos, to give the Hillcats a 3-1 lead. �

Rudy Owens held the Red Sox to just two singles over the middle three innings. �Both of those came in the 6th, and one was erased with a double play. �Owens gave up a walk to begin the 7th inning, then got a strikeout. �At that point, he was relieved by Noah Krol. �Krol gave up a single to the first batter he faced, and a 3-run home run to the next batter he faced, LF Chih-Hsien Chiang. �After a strikeout and a throwing error that put another runner on base, Krol induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning, but Salem had taken a 4-3 lead. �

The Hillcats threatened in the 8th inning. �Jason Blackey took the mound for Salem, and he began with back-to-back walks to Chase d'Arnaud and 3B Josh Harrison. �SS Jordy Mercer dropped down a bunt right in front of the plate, and the ball got lost between the Salem catcher's legs -- everyone was safe. �Blackey walked RF Jamie Romak with the bases loaded, forcing in the tying run. �Blackey was relieved by Kyle Fernandes, who struck out Kris Watts and got C Tony Sanchez to bounce into a double play, ending the threat. �

Ronald Uviedo came on to pitch the 9th for Lynchburg. �He retired the side in order, with one strikeout. �That set up the bottom of the 9th, and gave Jose De Los Santos the opportunity to be the big hero. �The Hillcats' radio announcers said that Salem pitcher Fernandes stood on the mound stunned and gaping at De Los Santos as he circled the bases.

The Hillcats and the Red Sox move on to Salem for the next game of the series, which will be played on Thursday. �

NOTES:

The Pirates opened camp for Fall Instructional League in Bradenton today. �As reported by Jen Langosh on the Pirates' site, this will be a two-part camp. �Phase I is for the more advanced members of the organization: � (not a complete list at all)

LHP Daniel Moskos, OF Jose Tabata, SS Brian Friday -- will do Instrux for a few weeks, then go on to the Arizona Fall League

SS/2B Chase d'Arnaud -- will get to Instrux as soon as the Hillcats finish up in the playoffs, then he will move on to the AFL also

SS Jordy Mercer, RHP Bryan Morris, LHP Rudy Owens -- will also get to Instrux when the Hillcats finish

OF Starling Marte, SS Jarek Cunningham, 1B Jeff Clement -- working back from injuries

OF Gorkys Hernandez, INF Shelby Ford, OF Robbie Grossman, RHP Tim Alderson, etc -- �will get a few weeks of Instrux time

Then Phase II will be the newer players, and that is scheduled to start on Sept 30th. �This will include most of the 2009 draft picks, even C Tony Sanchez. �3B Pedro Lopez is also expected to be there after his Team USA/World Cup experience, as he is scheduled to begin a mucho serious workout program.

The Hillcats came out swinging in the Carolina League Mills' Cup Championship Series, as they scored 9 unanswered runs to beat the Salem Red Sox at City Stadium in Lynchburg. �

Justin Wilson got the start for the Hillcats. �He gave up an unearned run in the 2nd inning, when Salem DH Michael Jones reached base on a fielding error by 3B Josh Harrison. �A ground out moved Jones to second and a single moved him along to third base. �2B Zach Borowiak brought Jones in with a sacrifice fly. �Salem scored again in the 3rd inning on 3B Jonathan Hee's one-out single, followed by 1B Anthony Rizzo's RBI double into the right field corner that RF Jamie Romak had trouble tracking down. �. �Salem 2, Lynchburg 0.

It was all Hillcats after that. �1B�Matt Hague led off the bottom of the 3rd with a walk. �LF Alex Presley lined a single into left field, and when the Salem left fielder had trouble handling the ball for an error, Presley went to second and Hague to third. �CF Jose De Los Santos walked to load the bases. �2B Chase d'Arnaud lifted a loopy hit that dropped into right field and became a double, scoring both Hague and Presley to tie the score. �When SS Jordy Mercer flied out to center field, �De Los Santos tagged up and headed for the plate. �He slid into home, avoiding the tag, to�give the Hillcats a 3-2 lead.

The Hillcats were quiet over the next three innings. �The only base runner was Jose De Los Santos, who singled and stole second base in the 5th inning, but was left on base. �When Salem starter Eammon Portice took a seat and was replaced by Jason Rice to begin the 7th inning, the Hillcats got going again. �Matt Hague blasted a solo home run over the left field wall, and the Hillcats had a 4-2 lead. �Alex Presley followed the homer with a single, chasing Rice from the game too. �Jose De Los Santos singled, moving Presley to third, though De Los Santos was out as he tried to stretch his hit into a double and overslid the second base bag. �Chase d'Arnaud picked up another RBI with a line drive into left field, scoring Presley, and the Hillcats were up 5-2.

Four more runs came in during the 8th inning to seal the Red Sox' fate. �Jordy Mercer opened the inning with a single, and Jamie Romak walked. �DH Kris Watts bunted, but instead of a sacrifice, it turned into a force out of Romak at second base, leaving runners on the corners. �C Tony Sanchez smacked a double off the right field wall to score Mercer and send Watts to third base. �Matt Hague greeted another new reliever with an RBI single, bringing in Watts, and moving Sanchez to third base. �Jose De Los Santos collected his third hit of the game with a 2-RBI triple to the left field wall, plating both Sanchez and Hague, and the Hillcats had the game safely in the bag. �

After the Red Sox scored in the 3rd inning, Justin Wilson went on to retire the side in the 4th, and allow only a walk, quickly erased with a double play, in the 5th. �Wilson got into a little bit of trouble in the 6th, with a lead-off walk and a single. �He was relieved by Chris Cullen. �The only batter Cullen faced, LF Chih-Hsien Chiang, drove a grounder to the right side of the infield, which looked like it was heading into right field for an RBI to tie the game. �1B Matt Hague had other ideas -- he made a diving stop, then was able to turn and throw to Cullen, covering first base, to end the inning without allowing a run to score. �Wilson pitched 5.2 innings and allowed 2 runs (one earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �

Harrison Bishop�pitched the 7th inning for the Hillcats, working around a lead-off single, but keeping the Red Sox from scoring. �Ramon Aguero came on to pitch the last two innings. �He struck out the first two batters in the 8th, then gave up two singles, then got a grounder force out to end the inning. �A fielding error by Chase d'Arnaud and a walk put two runners on base for Salem in the 9th, but Aguero got another ground out to end the inning and the game. Aguero earned the save and Wilson took the win. �

The two teams meet again on Tuesday at 6 pm for Game 2 of the five game series. �

USA pitchers Kasey Kiker (Rangers) and Lucas Harrell (White Sox) combined to hold the Netherlands Antilles' batters to 2 hits, while striking out a total of 9 batters in a game that was shortened to 7 innings, as Team USA was ahead by 10 runs. �

The NA got onto the scoreboard first, in the bottom of the 2nd inning. �A walk and a ground out put lf Jair Josepha onto second base, and the first NA hit of the game, a single by C Ulrich Snijders brought Josepha around to score. �

Team USA came right back to tie the score with a solo homer run by C Lucas May (Dodgers) to lead off the 3rd inning. � Weber added another lead-off homer in the 5th inning. �May continued the inning with a single into right field, and 2B Daniel Descalso (Cardinals) worked a walk. �SS Trevor Plouffe (Twins) brought in May with a double, though Descalso was thrown out at the plate. �1B Justin Smoak (Rangers) follwed with a 2-run homer, bringing in Plouffe, and Team USA had taken a 5-1 lead.

Two walks, to RF Ike Davis (Mets) and 3B Pedro Alvarez, produced a small threat in the 6th inning, but the rally ended with two strikeouts. �Instead, Team USA mounted a bigger rally in the 7th inning, as they sent 10 batters to the plate. �Daniel Descalso led off with a walk, and Trevor Plouffe put down a bunt for a single. �Justin Smoak blasted his second home run of the game, this one for 3 runs. �CF Josh Kroeger (White Sox) followed the homer by slipping a single through the right side of the infield, and he moved to second base on a ground out. �Ike Davis plated Kroeger with an RBI double into right field. �Davis went on to third base on LF Jon Weber's (Rays) single, and he scored on Pedro Alvarez's RBI ground out. �Lucas May added another double, bringing in Weber. �

After the run in the 2nd inning, Kasey Kiker got into more trouble in the 3rd inning, though he did not allow a hit. �Kiker struck out the first batter he faced, then walked the next three batters, on 13 pitches (8 pitches for the first two walks). �A pop out to shortstop gave him a second out, and then Kiker struck out the next batter to end the inning with three runners on base. �He also walked a batter in the 4th inning, though kept the NA batters scoreless.

Lucas Harrell took the mound in relief to begin the bottom of the 5th inning. �Harrell gave up a lone single in the 6th inning, but retired the other 9 batters he faced. �With Team USA up by 10 runs in the middle of the 7th, the NA team had one last chance in the bottom of the inning to avoid a shortened game. �Harrell retired the side in order on three ground outs, and the game was over. �

Pedro Alvarez went 0-for-3 with the walk and the RBI.

Other Pool G Games in Italy:

Taipei @ Japan -- postponed by rain

Pitching and strikeouts dominated this game, as the two teams had battled to a 2-2 tie at the end of 9 innings. �The Australian pitchers (though not Paul Mildren) combined to strikeout 14 Canadian batters, and the Canadian pitchers struck out 9 Aussies. �

Team Canada scored first, with one run in the bottom of the 1st inning. �Singles by CF Adam Stern (Brewers) and 2B Brett Lowrie (also Brewers) and a throwing error by the Australian pitcher Adam Blackley put two runners into scoring position. �3B Shawn Bowman (Mets) grounded out, scoring Stern to give Canada a 1-0 lead. �

The Australians tied it up in the 5th inning, on a single by C Joel Naughton (Phillies), a stolen base, and an RBI single by CF Nicholas Kimpton. �After several quiet innings, including two perfect innings pitched by Canada's Dustin Molleken, the Aussies scored again in the top of the 9th with a solo home run by 3B Luke Hughes (Twins). �The Canadians were not done though. �In the bottom of the frame, Team Canada tied the score again, with a solo home run by RF Rene Tosoni (Twins). �

Australia tried again in the top of the 10th, following the international extra-inning rules. �SS James Beresford (Twins) was placed on second base, Nicholas Kimpton was placed on first base, and 2B Bradley Harman (Phillies) started the inning at the plate. � Harman dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. �LF Daniel Berg (Twins) singled, scoring Beresford. �A double steal put runners on second and third again, and RF Timothy Kennelly (Phillies) was intentionally walked to load the bases. �That backfired when Canadian SS Terrance Dayleg (Marlins) made a fielding error on pinch hitter Andrew Graham's grounder, allowing both Kiimpton and Berg to score. � Australia 5, Canada 2.

Team Canada began the bottom of the inning with Rene Tosoni on second, Loewen (Blue Jays) on first, and Terrance Dayleg at the plate. �Dayleg also bunted, moving his teammates into scoring position. �Adam Stern hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Tosoni, but that was all the Canadians could manage, and Australia had the 5-3 win. �

Chris Snelling started the game in left field for Team Canada, and went 0-for-4 at the plate. �

Pool F Games in the Netherlands:

Great Britain dented the scoreboard first, with a run in the 2nd inning, but then fell behind as South Korea scored 3 runs in the 3rd inning and 2 more unearned runs in the 6th. �Great Britain surprised the Koreans by tying the score with a 4-run 7th inning. �A walk, two errors, an RBI single by SS Brant Ust, and a 2-RBI double brought in the 4 unearned runs for Great Britain. �The tie did not last long, though, as South Korea came roaring back with 6 runs (2 earned) in the bottom of the 7th. �South Korea added 3 more with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th, and when a triple and a single added a 4th run in the inning, it gave them the 10-run advantage needed to end the game early. �

Dutch batters recorded 13 hits and held the Puerto Ricans to just 6 hits in this game, which was delayed by rain. �Former Pirate 1B Randall Simon w as one of four Dutch batters to have 2 hits, and 2B Sh arlon S choop went 3-for-4 for the Netherlands. �Former Pirate farmhand 3B Yurendell de Caster was 0-for-5. �

The Netherlands scored an unearned run in the 2nd inning. �Randall Simon led off the 5th inning with a walk, and after a single, a triple, and a wild pitch, 3 more runs came in, giving the Netherlands a 4-0 lead. �Sharlon Schoop opened the 7th inning with a double, and a hit batter, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single brought him in. �RJ Rodriguez came on to pitch for Puerto Rico with one run in, one out, and runners on the corners. �Rodriguez faced just one batter, and got Yurendell de Caster to ground into a double play to end the inning. �

Puerto Rico scored their only runs in the top of the 9th, on a walk, a stolen base, an RBI single, a double, a walk, and then a walk to force in the second run of the inning. �

Lynchburg knew they were going to be the under-Cats going into the Carolina League Northern Division Championship series. �They turned out to be under-Cats with claws, as they scratched their way into Game 5 of the series: �lost Game 1, won Game 2, lost Game 3, won Game 4.

Tonight, though, the Hillcats behaved like they were still in the first half of the season. �Starter Bryan Morris tied his season-high longest start with 6.2 innings and earned the win, and Ronald Uviedo earned his second playoff Save. �3B Josh Harrison singled and doubled, and LF Erik Huber, just returning to the team, had two doubles and two perfect throws in from left field to cut down runners at the plate. �

After a 1-2-3 inning to begin the game, Morris gave up one run in the 2nd inning, on a single, a double, and a sacrifice fly. �Morris retired the side again in the 3rd inning. �

The Hillcats took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd. �Erik Huber lifted a double into center field, �and with two outs, 2B Chase d'Arnaud singled up the middle. �Huber came around to score from second base to tie the score. �D'Arnaud stole second base, and he scored on Josh Harrison's single into center field. �The inning ended when Harrison was thrown out trying for second base.

The top of the 4th inning started with two outs -- a strikeout, and a liner right back at Morris on the mound. �The liner hit Morris in the back, but he was able to turn, pick it up and fire to first in time to get the runner out. �Manager PJ Forbes and the team trainer came out to check on Morris, but he said he was fine -- he was not about to come out of this game. �Wilmington's 1B Eric Hosmer doubled down the left field line, and RF Nick Van Stratten followed with a single past 3B Josh Harrison and into left field. Hosmer rounded third base and headed for the plate. �Erik Huber retrieved the ball and threw exactly on-target to C Tony Sanchez, who tagged out Hosmer at the plate, to end the inning and preserve the lead. �

Morris put the Blue Rocks down in order again in the 5th inning, then Wilmington threatened again in the 6th. �With one out, singles by 2B Johnny Giavotella and 3B Mike Moustakas put two runners on base. �A fly ball to left field brought the second out, and kept the runners on first and second. �Then Eric Hosmer lined a single into left field. �Giavotella headed for home, as Erik Huber came up throwing -- and for the second time, Huber put the throw right into Tony Sanchez's hands, allowing Sanchez to tag out Giavotella at the plate. �

The Hillcats added 3 insurance runs in the 7th inning. �1B Matt Hague led off with a single into left field. �Pinch-hitter Kris Watts walked on 4 pitches, and the Blue Rocks brought in a new reliever, Louis Coleman. �Coleman got two quick outs, but then walked Chase d'Arnaud to load the bases. �Josh Harrison came through with a bases-clearing double, a line drive into the left field corner. �Hague, Watts, and d'Arnaud all scored, giving the Hillcats a 5-1 lead. �

Bryan Morris pitched into the 7th inning, but could not complete the inning. �He got two outs, and then gave up the only walk Lynchburg pitchers would allow. �He had given up 7 hits and that one run, with one strikeout. �Morris was relieved by Noah Krol, who finished the 7th inning with a ground out. �Krol came back out to pitch the 8th inning. �He gave up a single, then erased that runner with a double play. �Then Mike Moustakas homered over the right-center field wall, making the score 5-2. �After another single, Krol was relieved by Ronald Uviedo. �Uviedo got Hosmer to fly out to end the 8th, then got a ground out and two strikeouts in the 9th to end the game and send the Hillcats on to the Mills Cup Championship Series. �

The Hillcats and the Salem Red Sox will begin the next round at 6 pm in Lynchburg on Monday. �

Pitchers Cory Luebke and Gino Espineli combined to blank Team Canada on one hit to give Team USA a win in their first game of the Second Round of the World Cup tournament. �Playing in front of a mere 300 spectators in Reggio Emilia in Italy, it took Luebke 97 pitches (68 strikes) to pitch 7.2 innings. �He allowed one hit and one walk, while striking out 10 batters. �Luebke (San Diego Padres) faced the minimum over the first 6 innings. �The only base runner was a hit batter in the 4th inning -- who was promptly erased with a double play. �Another Canadian batter reached base in the 7th, on a lead off walk, which Luebke was easily able to work around. �With two outs in the 8th inning, Luebke finally gave up a single to Canadian C Chris Robinson. �Robinson advanced to third base when US CF Buck Coats made a fielding error. �Espineli was brought in to relieve Luebke at that point, and he finished the 8th inning with a ground out to first base. �The first batter in the 9th reached on a throwing error by Trevor Plouffe, but Espineli worked around it to retire the side. �

DH Terry Tiffee and LF Jon Weber led the offensive attack for Team USA with 3 hits, 2 doubles, and 3 RBI each. �Team USA scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st. �Buck Coats and Trevor Plouffe began the inning with two walks, and 1B Justin Smoak loaded the bases with a single. �Coats scored on RF Josh Kroeger's grounder to second base. �Kroeger and Plouffe both scored on Terry Tiffee's double, and Tiffee came in on Weber's double. �

Three doubles, by Kroeger, Tiffee, and Weber gave the US 2 more runs in the 3rd inning. �The same three batters all singled in the 5th inning to add another run to the Team USA total. �3B Pedro Alvarez capped off the US scoring with a solo home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. �That was Alvarez's only hit in the game, with 2 strikeouts and a ground out. �

In other World Cup Action:

At sites in the Netherlands:

The Netherlands came from behind with 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to get the win. � Former Indy Indian 3B Yurendell de Caster�had a hit and scored a run, and former Pirate 1B�Randall Simon recorded 2 hits. �

South Korea scored their 2 runs in the 3rd inning, on a walk, a single, a double, and an RBI ground out. �The Netherlands got one run back in the 4th inning, on a walk and a triple. �After several quiet innings, de Caster got the Netherlands going in the 8th with a lead-off double. �Simon singled, moving de Caster to third base. �Both scored on C Sidney de Jong's 3-run homer. �

Great Britain was limited to 2 hits, and even with 3 walks added in, they could not get any runs across. �SS Brant Ust went 0-for-4, and reliever Tom Boleska did not get into the game. �Cuba scored 3 runs in the 2nd and another 3 in the 8th, as Britain's pitchers kept the game closer than you might have expected. � �

Puerto Rico's 7-run 2nd inning put the game well out of Spain's reach. �RJ Rodriguez did not get to pitch in the game for Puerto Rico. �

At sites in Italy:��

A 7-run 3rd inning and a 9-run 5th inning gave the Australians plenty of firepower to end this game after 7 innings also. �Every member of the Austrailian's batting order scored at least one run. �Every member of the batting order except LF Chris Snelling had at least one hit, though Snelling walked twice and came around to score once. �RF Tim Kennelly and C Joel Naughton both went 4-for-4 in the game. �Of the 20 Australian's hits, 12 were doubles, one was a triple, and 3 were homers. �Kennelly nearly hit for the cycle: �he had the triple, two doubles, and a single, and he was also hit by a pitch. �

The Hillcats' win in Game 1 of the Carolina League Northern Division Championship Series broke a streak of 10 losses to the Wilmington Blue Rocks. �Tonight's win in Game 4 ends a streak of 7 straight losses by the Hillcats at the Blue Rocks' Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Delaware. �It also keeps the Hillcats alive in the playoffs, as they tied up the 5-game series at 2 games each. �Matt McSwain earned the win with 4 shutout innings in relief, and Jamie Romak had 2 hits and scored 3 of the 'Cats' 5 runs. �

Hillcats' starter Nate Adcock�pitched 5 innings and gave up 2 runs (one earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks, with 4 strikeouts. �The Blue Rocks scored first, with a run in the bottom of the 1st inning. �2B Johnny Giavotella singled with one out, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on 3B Mike Moustakas' RBI double. �The Hillcats came right back with a run of their own in the top of the 2nd inning. �RF�Jamie Romak�led off by being hit by a pitch. �After two outs, 1B�Matt Hague�walked, and Romak moved up to second base. �Romak scored when�LF�Alex Presley�reached on a fielding error by Rocks' 1B Eric Hosmer, and the score was tied at 1-1.

Wilmington answered back with another run in the next inning. �2B�Chase d'Arnaud's�fielding error put Johnny Giavotella on base to open the inning. �Giovatella stole second base, and when C�Tony Sanchez's�throw went wide for another error, he moved on to third base. �Mike Moutstakas' sacrifice fly scored Giavotella with an unearned run, and Wilmington had the lead again, 2-1.

Nate Adcock�pitched two more innings, and kept the Blue Rocks scoreless. �He gave up a walk in the 4th, and another single by Johnny Giavotella and a hit batter in the 5th. �Adcock was still the pitcher of record when the Hillcats' tied the score again in the top of the 6th, so he left the game unable to factor into the decision. �Jamie Romak singled to lead off the top of the 6th. �Both DH Kris Watts and Tony Sanchez lined out to the Wilmington 2B Giavotella. �Then Matt Hague lined a double into left field, and Romak advanced to third base. �Alex Presley picked up the RBI with an infield single to shortstop, scoring Romak. �Hague was caught in a run-down as he came around third base but went too far, and he was eventually tagged out to end the inning (6-2-5-1).

Adcock opened the bottom of the 6th by walking the first batter, RF Nick Van Stratten, and he was relieved by Matt McSwain. �McSwain got three ground outs, forcing out Van Stratten, and working around another walk. �He also worked around a lead-off single by Johnny Giavotella, who had 3 hits in the game, and made good use of an intentional walk, to end the inning with a double play. �

The Hillcats had not scored after the 6th inning in their last 10 games, and they picked an excellent time to break that streak too. �In the top of the 8th, Jamie Romak led off the inning for the third time in the game, and for the third time he reached base safely to ignite a rally. �Romak doubled into left field, and moved to third on Kris Watts' sacrifice bunt. �The Blue Rocks changed pitchers, and Tony Sanchez greeted the new reliever Zach Peterson by taking his first pitch over the left field wall for a 2-run homer. �Wilmington LF Ryan Stovall made a valiant effort, with a leap that almost took him over the wall and into the Hillcats' bullpen, but he could not make the catch. �

The Hillcats took the 4-2 lead into the top of the 9th, and picked up an insurance run when Chase d'Arnaud lifted another long fly ball into the Hillcats' bullpen for a solo home run. �A fielding error by the shortstop put Jordy Mercer on base after the homer, but he was erased in an inning-ending double play. �

Matt McSwain finished things up with two more scoreless innings. �He gave up another single and hit a batter in the 8th, and worked around another hit batter in the 9th, to earn the win. �

The Hillcats and the Blue Rocks will travel back to Lynchburg for Game 5, which will be played on Sunday evening (6 pm Eastern). �The winner of that game will go on to the Carolina League Championship series, to face the Salem Red Sox. �That 5-game series will begin on Monday. �Salem swept their series against the Winston-Salem Dash in 3 games to take the CL Southern Division title. �

Team USA 8, �China 0

USA starter Trevor Reckling (LA Angels) pitched 7 innings and scattered 3 hits and 3 walks, while striking out a record 11 Chinese batters. �The four USA pitchers, Recklin, Ehren Wassermann, Cedrick Bowers, and BJ Rosenberg, combined for 16 strikeouts, setting a new USA Baseball World Cup record for the number of strikeouts in a game. �

Two of China's hits off Reckling came in the 3rd inning, with a double and a single. �The lead runner was thrown out at the plate as he tried to score from second base on the single. �After a walk, the inning ended with a runner thrown out trying to steal third base. �That was the only serious threat that China made. �Ehren Wassermann came on to pitch in the 8th inning, and got a strikeout and a ground out. �He was relieved by Cedrick Bowers, who had a batter reach on his own fielding error, then struck out the next batter to end the inning. �BJ Rosenberg wrapped it up by striking out the side in the 9th inning. �

Meanwhile, Team USA scored twice in the top of the 1st inning, when SS Trevor Plouffe singled and DH Terry Tiffee blasted a 2-run homer. �The USA bats were kept quiet over the next 6 innings by China's starter Shuai Li, who gave up a walk to 2B Daniel Descalo to lead off the 3rd inning. �Li then retired the next 16 USA batters. �

With one out in the 8th inning, LF Jon Weber tripled into the right field corner, and he scored when Descalo singled. �CF Buck Coats doubled, and Terry Tiffee brought in both Weber and Coats with a 2-RBI single. �1B Ike Davis singled, and that chased China's Li from the mound. RF Josh Kroeger greeted the Chinese reliever with a 3-run home run, to give Team USA a 6-run inning. �

3B Pedro Alvarez went 0-for-4 in the game with a ground out, a fly out, and two strikeouts. �

Team USA will move on to Round 2, in Italy. �The schedule, with one game against each of the other 7 teams in the pool:

Sunday: �Canada @ USA

Monday: �USA @ Netherlands Antilles

Tuesday: �Japan @ USA

Wednesday: �day off

Thursday: �USA @ Taipei

Friday: �Australia @ USA

Saturday: �USA @ Mexico

Sunday: �USA @ Italy

More results from Saturday:

Pool A � (played in Czech Republic)

Taipei 10, Czech Republic 1

Mexico 10, Australia 9

Team Mexico got the early lead with 5 runs in the 2nd inning and 2 more runs in the 3rd inning. �C Matthew Kennelly made it 7-1 with a solo home run for Australia in the bottom of the 3rd. �LF James Linger added another home run for the Aussies in the 5th inning, and Mexico countered with a solo home run in the top of the 6th, off former Pirate farmhand Paul Mildren. �Mildren pitched 2 innings, allowed 2 hits, and struck out one batter.

Australia broke out for 5 runs in the bottom of the 6th. �Former Indy Indian CF Chris Snelling led off with a solo home run (the fourth solo home run of the game). �After two outs, a walk, a double, a single and another double, and two more singles brought in 4 more runs, and the Aussies were only one run down, 8-7. �

Mexico scored one run in the 8th on a single and a double. �Australia's Joel Naughton hit a pinch-hit 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th, to tie the score at 9-9. �But Mexico came back to score one more run in the top of the 9th on a double and a single. �Australia had one runner reach base on a dropped fly ball error in the bottom of the 9th, but could not get him around to score, and Mexico had the win. �

***Taipei, Australia, and Mexico move on to the second round, and will play in Italy.

Pool B �(played in Spain)�

Cuba 5, Spain 4

Puerto Rico 12, South Africa 0 �(7 innings)

South Africa was held to 3 hits, one of which was by SS Gift Ngoepe. �Ngoepe singled to lead off the 4th inning, but was quickly erased in a double play. �RJ Rodriguez did not get into the game for Puerto Rico. �

***Cuba, Spain, and Puerto Rico move on to the second round, and will play in the Netherlands.

Pool C � (played in Sweden)

Netherlands Antilles 9, South Korea 5�

Canada 19, Sweden 1 � (5 innings)

Team Canada scored 7 runs in the 2nd, 3 runs in the 3rd, 8 runs in the 4th, and one more run in the 5th as they ran over Team Sweden. �Sweden scored their only run on a home run in the bottom of the 1st inning. �Dustin Molleken pitched the bottom of the 5th inning for Canada, and he retired the side in order, with a strike out and two ground outs. �

***Neth. Antilles and Canada move on to the second round, playing in Italy; South Korea moves on to the second round and will play in the Netherlands. �

Pool D �(played in Croatia)

Nicaragua 8, Japan 4

Great Britain 4, Croatia 1

Tom Boleska earned a save for the Great Britain team, which moves on to Round 2. �After starter Brian Essery pitched 5 scoreless innings, holding Croatia to 3 hits, Boleska pitched the remaining 4 innings. �He allowed 2 hits and 2 walks, and gave up Croatia's only run, but struck out 8 of the 17 batters he faced (8 of 12 outs were strikeouts). �The run came in the 8th inning, on a walk, a wild pitch, and a double. �Brant Ust had 2 hits in 4 at-bats, with a walk, and he scored one of Great Britain's runs. �The first GB run scored in the 5th inning on a two-out single, a stolen base, and an RBI double. �They added two more in the 6th inning on a double and a 2-run homer by C Christopher Berset. �Ust's 2-out single came in the 7th, and another single and a fielding error brought him around to score. �

***Great Britain and Nicaragua advance to the second round, playing in the Netherlands; Japan moves on to the second round in Italy.

Pool E �(played in Germany)

USA 8, China 0

Venezuela 12, Germany 1 �(8 innings)

***Venezuela moves on to the second round in the Netherlands; Team USA moves on to the second round in Italy. �