Miracle, Twins extended affiliation

The Fort Myers Miracle and the Minnesota Twins announced Friday that they have expended their affiliation agreement for an additional four year, running through 2012.

"We are delighted to extend our affiliation with Fort Myers," said Twins Director of Minor League Operations Jim Rantz. "[Fort Myers president] Linda McNabb and her staff have created a great environment for Minor League Baseball and give our players top-notch facilities and treatment.”

The Twins value their farm system and currently bost a number of former Fort Myers Miracle players on their Roster including the M&M boys Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer, outfielder Jason Kubul, center fielder Denard Span, and the entire Twins starting rotations of Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Glenn Perkins, Kevin Slowey and Francisco Liriano.

Former Twin prospect and Naples resident Jeff Smith took the Miracle to the FSL championship game in 2008, and the team has reached the post season twice in the last three years.

Aside from reliever Pat Neshek, who is currently on the DL, a look at the Twins roster reveals names like Jesse Crain, Jose Mijares, Alexi Casilla, Matt Tolbert and Mike Cuddyer, all of which spent developmental time with the Fort Myers Miracle during their career.

Additionally the Twins have been active in the Fort Myers Community, sponsoring free youth baseball camps which start in January and run through the beginning of spring training, plus winter caravan visits to Fort Myers local hospitals and retirement homes. The Twins have an lease with the Lee County Sportsplex that runs through 2020 with two five-year extensions that could see the Twins in Fort Myers for spring training through the year 2030.

The Miracle are a member of the Goldklang Group, which provides Operational consulting and Management services in all areas relating to sports franchise and event acquisition, promotion and operation.

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USA Today announced their minor league player of the year and it should come as no surprise to the informed minor league fan that they chose Tampa Bay prospect David Price for the honor. Price posted an 11-0 record with a 1.87 era in 15 starts at High-A Vero Beach (FSL) and AA Montgomery before earning a promotion to the AAA Durham Bulls. He was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in the regular season for Durham and 1-0 with a 3.27 era in the Governors' Cup playoffs. The first overall selection of the Rays in the 2007 amateur draft received 57% of the over 23,000 online votes cast by fans at the USA Today and Sports Weekly website.

The same organization named pitcher Mike McCardell as the Twins Minor League Player of the year. McCardell posted a 9-4 record with a 2.86 ERA in 22 games with the Low-A Beloit Snappers in 2008. He walked 25, and struck out 139 in 135.1 innings pitched. The 23 year old native of West Chester, Pa, will be one of the players that will fill in the Miracle starting rotation in 2009, but don't expect the big right hander to stay around long if he continues to pitch the way he did for the Snappers.

Cole Devries, Alex Burnett, Deolis Guerra and Matt Fox will all likely start the 2009 season in AA. Players like McCardell, David Bromberg and Steve Hirschfield will be critical to the Miracle's success in the upcoming season.

While some have questioned how Twins phenom Ben Revere could have been bypassed for this honor, both players certainly deserve the recognition, and it is good to see McCardell getting his fair of the limelight.

McCardell was named the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the month for June of 2008, as he went 4-0 in five starts while posting a 2.45 era and .87 WHIP during that period.

Rather unfortunately, McCardell will not be at this year's Fall Instructional League, having attended the camp last season. You will have to wait until Spring Training to get a look a the next Miracle ace.

Miracle find rain, Beloit finds win

Fort Myers at Daytona - Postponed

The game between the Fort Myers Miracle and the Daytona Cubs was postponed due to rain. The teams will attempt to play a double header on Saturday at 6:05 PM, weather permitting. Friday's game is still set for 7:05 PM.

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West Michigan 7 at Beloit 11

W: M. McCardell (7-2, 3.08); L: P. Nardozzi (3-5, 4.67); SV: B. Martin (1)
HR: WMI: B. Douglas (1).

It is odd for Mike McCardell to give up any runs, let alone five, but that is exactly what happened during a slug fest between the Beloit Snappers and the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Jordan Newton doubled for the Whitecaps off McCardell with one out in the top of the 2nd inning. Hayton Parrott would go down on strikes before McCardell hit Keith Stein with a pitch. Justin Henry's grounder out to center scored Newton, and Brandon Douglas followed it up with a home run out to left, to give West Michigan 4 runs. Ron Bourquin took a walk before Alex Avila flew out to give Beloit a chance to bat.

With two outs on the board in the bottom of the 3rd, Estarlin De Los Santos singled off West Michigan's Paul Nardozzi. Chris Cates then drew a walk. Ben Revere doubled to drive in the pair, cutting the Whitecaps' lead in half.

Mark Dolenc and Ramon Santana would hit back-to-back singles in the bottom of the 4th before Greg Yersich went down on strikes. Allan de San Miguel would get plunked by a pitch to load the bags, and Andrew Schmiesing walked to force in a run. De Lo singles, driving in Santana and Dirty. Andrew Hess replaced Nardozzi at that point and would get Chris Cates to ground out before allowing a double to Revere that cleaned off the bags, making it 7-4 Beloit.

The Whitecaps came charging back with Douglas singling and Bourquin doubling to put two men on. Avila would go down on a sac-fly to score Douglas.

In the bottom of the stanza, Dolenc went down on strikes before Santana was hit by a pitch. Yersich then doubled putting a pair of men in scoring position. Dirty would pop out before Schmiesing walked to load the bags. De Lo would reach on a fielding error by Douglas that scored Santana and Yersich to give the Snappers 9, a four run lead over the Tiger's farm team.

Charles Nolte would take over the mound in the top of the sixth and get two men out before Henry doubled. Douglas would reach on a throwing error by Cates that also brought Henry home, cutting Beloit's lead to three.

The Snappers would lose the recently returned Santana to a leg injury in the 7th inning. Jeanfred Brito would replace Santana as designed hitter, but it was a blow to already heavily injured Snappers squad.

With one out on the board, Henry would single off Blake Martin. Douglas doubled him in to make it 9-7 Beloit.

The Snappers would take advantage of Noah Krol however, with De Lo singling and Cates getting plunked by a pitch to follow him onto base. The pair would advance on Revere's ground out and a wild pitch by Krol saw De Lo across the plate. Deibinson Romero singled to plate Cates before Dolenc poped into a double play to end the inning.

Martin would strike out two of the four batters he faced in the top of the 9th to end the contest.

De Lo was 3-for-5 with 3 runs and a pair of RBIs to lead the team offensively. Santana was right behind him, going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs before his injury. Revere and Romero were both 2-for-5, Revere with 4 RBIs and Romero with 1. Yersich finished off 1-for-4 with a double and a run, and Dolenc was 1-for-5 wit a run.

The Snappers look to sweep the three-game series on Friday at Pohlman Field, first pitch is due at 7:05 central time.

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McCardell leaves Wizards spellbound

Beloit 6 at Fort Wayne 1

W: M. McCardell (6-2, 2.72); L: J. McBryde (3-6, 5.15)
HR: BEL: O. Lewis (4).

Mike McCardell pitched 7 innings of shut out baseball, scattering a pair of hits and a walk while striking out 9 to lead the Beloit Snappers to a 6-1 win over the Fort Wayne Wizards.

Chris Cates singled the the top of the fourth, right before Wizard's starter Jeremy McBryde hit Ben Revere with a pitch. Cates moved to 3rd on Deibinson Romero's fly out, which allowed the speedy Revere to steal 2nd. Rene Leverett's fly ball single to right drove the pair in to give the Snappers two.

That would be all they'd need with McCardell on the mound, but the Snappers helped themselves to a few more, just in case.

Mark Dolenc singled to lead off the top of the fifth. Estarlin De Los Santos went down on strikes before Jeanfred Brito singled to third. Cates would then hit a fly ball to right that drove in Dolenc and moved Brito to 3rd. He'd score off Revere's grounder to center, making it 4-0 Beloit.

Colt Hynes joined the game for the Wizards in the top of the sixth, and would get Leverett out on strikes and Ozzie Lewis to fly out before Greg Yersich belted a double. Dolenc's single to center would put Yerich over the plate to make it 5-0. Lewis would go yard in the top of the eighth to finish off the scoring for the Snappers.

Blake Martin replaced McCardell for the 8th and was greeted with a single by Yefri Carvajal. Andrew Parrino reached on a force attempt when Brito missed the catch. Martin would then get Luis Martinez to fly out and Brad Chalk to pop out before Robert Perry's single scored Carvajal for the Wizard's lone run.

Charles Nolte allowed a pair of singles in the bottom of the 9th, but kept the Wizards off the board, getting Parrino out on strikes to end the contest.

Cates, Lewis and Dolenc were all 2-for-4 with a run and a run scored in the contest.

The two teams rematch Friday night for a 6:00 PM Firework's game at Memorial Stadium. Wizard Wynn Pelzer (7-3, 3.16) will make his 15th start of the season for Fort Wayne, while David Bromberg (5-6, 5.42) goes to the mound for the Snappers.

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Kingsport at Elizabethton - Suspended

The Appalachian League game between the Elizabethton Twins and the Kingsport Mets was postponed due to rain. It will be made up as part of a double header on July 26th. The first game will start at 6:00 PM with the second game starting about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. Both games will be 7 innings in length.

The Twins travel to Johnson City to face the J.C. Cardinals on Friday, with the first pitch set for 7:00 PM

E-Twins rebound for win

Elizabethton 5 at Bristol 4

W: M. Hamburger (1-0, 3.86); L: K. Asselin (0-1, 3.38)
HR: ELI: M. Harrington (4), A. Morales (4). BRI: J. Castillo (1).

One day after being blanked by the Bristol Sox, the Elizabethton Twins bounced back to a 5-4 win over the same team...although the game would run to extra inning.

Dominic De La Osa, Nick Papasan and Jon Waltenbury all took walks to load the bases to start out the game. Evan Bigley would hit into a force out that took De La Osa out at home. Papasan however would come home on a throwing error by Sox catcher Shaydron Buckridge which also left runners on second and third. Michael Harrington singled out to right drive in the pair, giving the E-Twins an early 3 run lead.

Juan Silverio singled for the Sox in the bottom of the 5th. He'd be doubled in by Kenneth Gilbert to put Bristol on the board.

The E-Twins responded right away with Harrington putting one over the right center field wall in the top of the sixth. Despite a double to Angel Morales, that would be all Elizabethton would get in the inning.

Danny Rondon has not been finding the Appalachian League to his liking. The GCL Twins top closer from last season would see Buckridge knock a line drive single off him to start the bottom of the 8th. After getting Hancer Vargas out on strikes, Rondon would manage to pick off Buckridge. Justin Greene then singled off him and advanced to 2nd on a throwing error - Rondon's own. Jordan Kendall then doubled to score Greene at which time Mark Hamburger was brought into the game. Jorge Castillo greeted him with a home run that tied up the game.

Angel Morales 4th home run of the season would win the game in the extra innings for the E-Twins.

Hamburger would get the blown save, his first of the season, but also his first win, working 3.1 innings and allowing 1 run on 3 hits while fanning 3. Shooter Hunt made the start and worked 3 innings of goose eggs, fanning six.

Morales would go 3-for-5 at the plate to lead the scoring with a run and a run scored. De La Osa and Juan Richardson were both 2-for-5 as was Harrington, who also had a run and 3 RBIs to go with the multiple hits.

The series continues Saturday with a 7:00 PM start.

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Clinton 4 at Beloit 0

W: B. Beavan (5-5, 2.84); L: M. McCardell (5-2, 2.97)
HR: CLI: M. Alfonzo (3).

Beloit on the other hand, showed little interest in rebounding from Thursday's loss. Clinton starter Blake Beavan held the team to only 3 hits over seven innings. He issued no walks, and fanned five.

Jeanfred Brito, Marc Dolenc and Andrew Schmiesing were all one hit wonders, which is one hit more than the rest of their teammates had. Even Ben Revere found himself 0-for-3 on the night.

Miguel Alfonzo hit his 3rd home run of the season off Beloit stater Mike McCardell in the top of the 2nd to put Clinton on the board.

Engel Beltre would double in the top of the 3rd for the L-Kings. A throwing error by McCardell lead to Andrew Jones reaching and Beltre scoring. Jones would move to 3rd on the play and McCardell who has not having a good night on the mound, would be called on a balk, scoring James.

Beltre singled in the fifth moved to 2nd on Jone's sac-bunt, and was plated by Moreland's ground ball single to left.

3 of the 4 runs McCardell allowed would be earned, as he surrendered 8 hits and a walk over 7 innings while fanning 4.

Beloit is hoping a change of scenery will help Saturday as they travel over to Appleton to take on the Timber Rattlers. The first pitch will be tossed at 6:35 P.M. central time.

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McCardell stiffles Kernels offense

Cedar Rapids 1 at Beloit 2

W: M. McCardell (5-1, 2.88); L: C. Howard (0-1, 3.24)
HR: None.

Mike McCardell worked all 9 innings Sunday, allowing only one run on 5 hits while fanning five in route to his 5th victory of the year. McCardell retired 15 batters straight from the 5th inning on, ensuring the Beloit Snappers victory over the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

Hector Estrella would double off McCardell in the top of the 4th with one runner out. Following a pop out to Efren Navarro, Jay Brossman singled to drive in Estrella. Brossman would steal 2nd, but Clay Fuller struck out swinging to end retire the side.

Beloit would not tie up the game until the bottom of the sixth, when Mark Dolenc took a walk, then stole 2nd base. Estarlin De Los Santos doubled to plate Dolenc, then would move to 3rd on Chris Cates sac bunt. However, Deibinson Romero would go down on strikes and Ozzie Lewis would ground out to end the inning.

With one out on the board, Greg Yersich singled. He'd advance to 2nd on Allan de San Miguel's line out, on a throwing error by shortstop Andrew Romine. Andrew Schmiesing drew a walk before Dolenc would single Yersich in for the game winning run.

Only Lewis, Rene Leveret and de San Miguel failed to get a hit for the Snappers, although de San Miguel walked twice as did Dolenc.

The two teams finish off the 4-game series Monday at 7:00 PM at Pohlman Field.

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The Snappers will be helping out the relief efforts for flood victims in Iowa by donating 50 cents for ever ticket sold to their July 3rd game. Minor League Baseball is heading up the relief efforts with a $50,000 donation. Four Midwest League teams: the Burlington Bees, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Quad Cities River Bandits, and Iowa Cubs were affected by the flooding. (Press Release)

McCardell Activated from DL; Petsch Released

A Beloit Snappers Press Release

The Minnesota Twins have activated Snappers right-handed pitcher Michael McCardell from the disabled list and released infielder Ben Petsch, both effective today.

McCardell was placed on the DL on April 28th with a right elbow injury. Before his injury he had posted a 0-1 record with a 2.53 ERA. Michael also sported 24 strikeouts in just 21.1 innings pitched.

The right-hander from West Chester, Pennsylvania was the Twins’ 6th round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player draft. He attended Kutztown University where he was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division Pitcher of the Year in 2006.

Michael was also named Twins’ Minor League Player of the Week (8/31 – 9/6) last year going 2-0 with only five hits allowed and 15 strikeouts. McCardell also enjoyed Twins’ Minor League Pitcher of the Month honors last season for August, going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 44 strikeouts.

Ben Petsch was the Twins’ 19th round pick in 2007 and was hitting .224 in 21 games played this season.

The moves leave the Beloit active roster at 25.