PIRATES PROSPECTSPITTSBURGH PIRATES MINOR LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSACTIONS, AND ARTICLES

The State College Spikes opened the New York/Penn League season last night before a SRO crowd, but were completely overmatched by the Crosscutters. �Five of the Pirates' 2009 draft picks, who have already signed contracts, are with the Spikes already, and made their professional debuts in the game: �LF Jose Hernandez, 2B(SS)�Ty Summerlin, DH (OF)�Pat Irvine,�RHP�Jason Erickson, and�RHP Marc Baca. �South African�Brett Willemburg also made his pro baseball debut, coming in as a late-inning replacement at shortstop. �First-round pick C Tony Sanchez is scheduled to join the team tomorrow, for a few games before being moved to the West Virginia Power roster next week. �Ninth-round pick, INF Brock Holt�has also signed and has been added to the Spikes' roster.

It was a tough start for Spikes' Tyler Cox,�who was moved to the Spikes' roster after an 0-4 record and a 10.25 ERA in 8 games (6 starts) with the Power. �He pitched 4.2 innings and allowed 10 runs (8 earned) on 10 hits and one walk, with 4 strikeouts. �Cox was holding his own through the first 4 innings. �He gave up a run in the 1st inning on the walk, a single, his own throwing error, and an RBI ground out. �He pitched two scoreless innings, and picked a base runner off first, then allowed a run in the 4th on a double, a throwing error and a sacrifice fly. �At that point, the score was tied at 2-2. �The wheels fell off in the 5th inning, which began with a double and a fielding error and an RBI single. �After a strikeout, there were 3 more singles, a double, a triple, and a hit batter, and finally Cox was relieved by Alan Knotts, who gave up another RBI single, for a total of 8 runs in the inning, before getting the third out. �

Knotts pitched a scoreless�6th, then Jason Erickson made his debut with a perfect 7th inning. �Marc Baca took his turn with a scoreless 8th, which included a single and a fielding error. �Albert Fagan pitched the 9th for the Spikes, and he also had trouble, as the inning began with a walk and four straight singles for 2 runs. �A double play brought in another run, and then a 2-run homer finished it off.

The Spikes did all their scoring in the first two innings. �CF Edward Garcia led off with a double, and SS Andy Vasquez singled, and Garcia scored when DH Justin Byler bounced into a double play. �Another double, by 3B Matt Payne started the rally in the 2nd inning, and Payne scored on LF Ciro Rosero's RBI single. �Rosero and Vasquez each had two hits for the Spikes, and 1B Kyle Morgan also had a double. ��

The Power also fell victim to an 8-run inning. �Starter Gabriel Alvarado held the Crawdads to two walks over the first two innings, but then fell apart in the 3rd. �Three singles, 2 doubles, 2 homers ( a 2-run and a 3-run), a walk, and two errors made Alvarado responsible for 8 runs (6 earned). �he was relieved by Eddie Pena, who finished the 3rd and then pitched 3 more innings, allowing two more runs (one earned) on 3 singles, a walk, a wild pitch, and yet another error. �Brian Leach pitched 2 perfect innings to end the game for the Power.

The Power batters matched the Crawdads with 10 hits each, but the Power could not catch up, even with a final rally in the 9th and 6 errors by the Crawdads. �They had scored first, in the 2nd inning, on a double by 3B Jeremy Farrell, a single by 1B Calvin Anderson, and a grounder for a double play by RF Marcus Davis, then�C Andrew Walker's solo�homer. �Walker added another RBI with a sacrifice fly in the 4th inning, scoring Anderson, who had reached on throwing error and went to third on Davis' single. �

Three straight errors by the Crawdads helped the Power score 3 more times in the 5th. �SS Chase D'Arnaud, DH Erik Huber, and Farrell all reached base on consecutive error plays, a throwing error and a fielding error by the Crawdads' shortstop, and then a throwing error by their second baseman. �That last brought in D'Arnaud. �Huber scored on an RBI ground out by Anderson, and Farrell scored on an RBI ground out by Davis. �Another error helped the Power in the 6th, when 2B Adenson Chourio singled, stole second, and went to third when the catcher's throw sailed past second base. �CF�Robbie Grossman brought Chourio in with an RBI single. �D'Arnaud started a rally in the 9th, getting on base due to the Crawdads' 6th error of the game, and he scored on Andersons' RBI double, but the rally ended there and the Power took the loss. �Farrell, Anderson, and Chourio each had 2 hits in the game. �

3B Pedro Alvarez and C Kris Watts led the Hillcats with 3 hits apiece, as the Cardiac 'Cats came from behind again to get the win. �

Starter�Jeff Locke made his 3rd start for the Hillcats, and scattered 6 h its over 6 innings of work. �He allowed 3 unearned runs in the 3rd inning, when he gave up a one-out double, then another batter reached base on a fielding error. �After a strikeout (which should have been the third out of the inning), DH Lonnie Chisenhall hit a 3-run homer. �Paul Mildren relieved Locke, and he got into a jam in the 8th, with two singles and a wild pitch, and Mike Colla came on to finish that inning without allowing a run to score. �Michael Dubee earned his 6th save, retiring the side in the 9th. �

The Hillcats came right back after the 3-run top of the 3rd, scoring in the next three innings. �THeir first run, in the bottom of the 3rd, came after SS Jordy Mercer reached on a fielding error, went to second on Alvarez's walk, and scored on 1B Miles Durham's RBI double. �LF Jared Keel homered to add another run in the 4th inning. �In the 5th, Alvarez led off with a single, and doubles by Durham and Watts (2 RBI) brought in two more runs, giving the Hillcats a 4-3 lead. �Durham scored an insurance run in the 7th, when he led off with a walk, stole second, went to third on a throwing error by the Kinston catcher, and scored on Watts' RBI single. �

A 3-run home run by RF Jose Tabata, his first of the season, gave the Curve a short-lived tie, but they could not hold on against Connecticut. �The Curve were limited to 6 hits, four of which were for extra bases: �Tabata's homer, a triple by 3B Hector Gimenez, and doubles by 1B Jason Delaney and LF Jonel Pacheco. �

Connecticut struck first, with 3 runs off Curve starter Yoslan Herrera in the 3rd inning, on two singles, a triple, and a sacrifice fly. �They added another in the 4th, with a lead-off triple and an RBI double. �Herrera left the game after the triple, with a lower back strain, which seemed to have happened on the pitch before the triple. �Derek Hankins came into the game on short notice, and gave up the double, then struck out the next three batters to end the inning. �Hankins gave up another triple to lead off the 5th (there were a total of 4 triples in the game), and a run scored on a ground out. �

The Curve got going in the bottom of the 4th, when Tabata reached on a fielding error, and dobules by Delaney and Pacheco brought in 2 runs. �Then Tabata tied it up at 5-5 in the bottom of the 5th. �Derek Hankins and SS Brian Friday hit back-to-back singles, and Tabata followed with his 3-run bomb. �

But the Curve couldn't get anything started after that. �Over the last 4 innings of the game, they managed only one base runner -- when Delaney walked in the 8th. �Hankins started the top of the 7th by giving up two singles and committing a throwing error to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. �The go-ahead run scored on a ground out, and an insurance run came in on a single. �Reliever Corey Hamman ended the inning with a double play, but he allowed 2 unearned runs in the 8th, on 2 singles, a walk, and a missed catch error by C Steve Lerud, which came on a throw in to the plate from center field. �Hankins was charged with his first loss of the season. �

Jason and jonel