Snappers out-slug Timber Rattlers

Beloit 12 at Wisconsin 11

W: S. Steedley (5-3, 2.14); L: R. Harmon (0-4, 6.48)
HR: BEL: A. De San Miguel (1). WIS: J. Dunigan (6), R. Garth (4), E. Colina (3).

The Beloit Snappers came out on top of a slug fest Sunday afternoon at Fox Cities Stadium, dropping the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 12- 11.

Michael Pineda took the start for the Timber Rattlers against the Snappers' Santos Arias. Both pitchers hail from the Dominican Republic and despite a very aggressive Beloit offense in the first and second inning, both kept the opposing team off the board until the fourth rolled around.

Deibinson Romero singled out to left to lead off that stanza and Rene Leveret followed that up with a double that plated Romero. A wild pitch by Pineda would move Leveret to 3rd, and Ozzie Lewis saw fit to sacrifice him in to give the Snappers the first two runs of the game.

With one out on the board in the bottom half the fourth, Edilio Colina doubled. Following a fly out to Denny Almonte, Ronald Garth singled to drive in Colina. Joseph Dunigan doubled in Garth, and Juan Diaz tripled to plated Dunigan before Arias could get Joe White out on strikes to end the inning.

The fifth would be relatively quiet. Leveret would go down on strikes in the top of the sixth before Lewis took a walk. Keith Meyer would then take over the pitching chores from Pineda and unleashed a wild pitch, moving Lewis to second. Allan de San Miguel then drew a walk. Mark Dolenc tripled the pair in, and a sac-bunt by Estarlin De Los Santos brought Dolenc in to make it 5-3 Snappers.

Colina singled to lead of the bottom half the inning, before Arias took Almonte out on strikes. Garth then doubled to move Colina to 3rd. Field Manager Nelson Prada would call for a pitching change, getting Henry Reyes out of the bullpen. Reyes would allow a single to Dunican that scored Colina. Reyes then let go of his own wild pitch, allowing Garth to cross the plate. He would walk Diaz before getting Gavin Dickey and Isreal Nunez to ground out, with the game tied.

Ben Revere led off the top of the 7th with a walk. Deibinson Romero singled before the Timber Rattlers went to their bullpen again, this time selecting Jose Escalona to try his hand at the Snappers. He'd allow a walk to Leveret to load the bases, then a single to Lewis that scored Revere. Aussie catcher de San Miguel then hit a grand slam home run over the left field wall, to make it 10-5 Snappers. Beloit would load the bases again before Chris Cates hit into a double play to give Wisconsin a turn.

With one out on the board, Alex Meneses walked. Colina then went yard for his 3rd home run of the season. Denny Almote singled and advanced to second when Reyes was called on a balk. Garth would fly out, moving Almonte to 3rd before Dunigan took a walk. Juan Diaz then singled, plating Almonte, and a throwing error by Reyes allowed Dunigan to come home as well. Suddenly it was 10-9 Snappers.

Justin Souza replaced Escalona to start the eighth, and got Revere out on strikes. Romero and Leveret hit back-go-back singles that put runners on the corners. Lewis hit into a force out that plated Romero, and took Leveret down at 2nd. Lewis would then be caught stealing to retire the side.

Dutchman Loek Van Mil took over in the bottom of the 8th for Beloit and despite a walk to Nunez and a double to Meneses, kept Wisconsin from gaining additional ground on the Snappers.

The bottom of the ninth would be different however, as Garth hit his fourth home run of the season over the left field fence and Dunigan followed that up with his sixth yard ball of the season to tie up the game.

Spencer Steedly took over for Van Mil in the 10th, keeping Wisconsin quiet. With one out on the board in the 11th, Leveret singled and a wild pitch by Robert Harmon moved him to 2nd. Lewis would be called out on strikes and de San Miguel would draw a walk. Another wild pitch moved Leveret to 3rd. Mark Dolenc then singled to score Leveret for what would prove the game winning run.

Steedly made short work of Wisconsin the bottom of the stanza, sealing the game for the Snappers.

Dolenc finished up 4-for-5 with a walk a run and 3 RBIs. Leveret was 3-for-5 with a walk, three runs and a run scored, Romero was 3-for-6 with 3 runs. Revere as 1-for-4 with a pair of walks and a run, Lewis was 1-for-3 with 2 walks, 2 runs and 3 RBIs and de San Miguel finished up 1-for-4 with 2 walks, 2 runs, and 4 runs scored. De Los Santos was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run.

Steely picked up the win, improving his record to 5-3, fanning 2 in two innings worth of work.

The loss was the Rattlers 10th straight. The final game of the series is Monday at 7:05 PM with Steve Hirschfeld (5-2, 2.74) taking to the hill for the Snappers against Wisconsin's Juan Ramirez (3-7, 4.59).

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Elizabethton 3 at Bristol 3

Suspended - rain

The game between the Elizabethton Twins and the Bristol Sox was suspended in the top of the 7th due to rain. The game was tied at three each. It will be completed, August 11, 2008 at 6:00 PM. The teams completed game will be 9 inning in length. The second, regularly scheduled game, will be played as a 7-inning affair.

Jon Waltenbury and Danny Rams had hit back-to-back singles in the top of the 4th inning. Waltenbury would advance to 3rd on a fielding error by Kenneth Gilbert. Michael Harrington then singled to score both runners, while Harrington ended up at 2nd on a missed catch by shortstop Juan Silverio. 2 outs later, Nat Hanson would reach on a throwing error to score Harrington, giving the E-Twins 3 runs and tying up the game.

Mike Lanigan had taken the start, allowing 3 runs, only one earned, to the Sox on 3 hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He'd fan one. Omar Alcala was on the mound at the time the rains came.

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Two Domincans earn weekly honors

The Minnesota Twins announced today that Fort Myers Miracle infielder Yancarlos Ortiz has been named Twins Minor League Player of the Week. Ortiz went 6-for-19 (.315) with four RBIs, three walks and two runs scored.

Defensively, Ortiz has been tremendous earning nicknames like "The Human Hoover" as he continues gobbles up every ball that comes his way.

A non-drafted free agent from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Ortiz is hitting .278 this season with 19 RBIs.



In Beloit, another Dominican earned weekly honors. Santos Arias was named by the Midwest League as their Pitcher of the Week after pitching a complete game shutout on June 26th against the Clinton LumberKings. During that outing, Santos allowed just three hits while striking out four in a 2-0 win by the Snappers.

So far this season, Santos is 4-3 with a 2.39 ERA in 11 starts. Arias has pitched 67.2 innings, allowing 23 runs (18 earned) while striking out 54 batters and walking just 13. The right-hander also has a 1.03 WHIP with opponents batting a measly .227 against him.

Signed by the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in February of 2005, Arias is originally from La Romana, Dominican Republic. Coming into this season, he had a career minor league record of 17-9 with a 2.18 ERA in 24 starts. He led the Dominican Summer League in innings (95.0), wins (10) and was sixth in ERA (1.23) during the 2006 season.

Arias works 9, fans 4, shuts out Clinton

Beloit 2 at Clinton 0

W: S. Arias (4-3, 2.39); L: K. Gomez (8-3, 2.81)
HR: None.

Santos Arias threw a complete 9-inning game, allowing only 3 hits to the Clinton Lumber Kings who were shut out by the Beloit Snappers, 2-0.

Ozzie Lewis doubled in the top of the 2nd, moved to third on Joe Benson's bunt single and came home when Eric Santiago ground into a double play for the first and only run the Snappers would need.

Clinton's best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the 4th, when Mitchell Moreland singled and moved to 2nd on a balk. A passed ball by Allan de San Miguel got him to 3rd before Arias would strike out Cristian Santana to end the inning.

De San Miguel would double in the top of the 6th for the Snappers but find himself stranded at 3rd on a Chris Cates ground out.

Ben Revere tripled in the top of the 7th, then came home on a Benson single for the insurance run.

Benson was 2-for-3 with a RBI, and Revere was 2-for-4 with a run. Lewis was 1-for- with a run.

The Snappers now return home for a 4-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Game time is 7:00 PM at Pohlman Field. It is Redneck Night as well as Fireworks night #5.

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Cards in the Attic has a really nice review of the Beloit Snappers 2008 Card set. well worth checking out, you can find it at Aardvark Trading Co..

Johnson City 6 at Elizabethton 7

W: C. Leavitt (1-1, 7.36); L: R. Santos (0-1, 5.87); SV: M. Hamburger (2)
HR: JCY: J. Martinez (2), N. Vasquez (1). ELI: A. Morales (3), R. Leveret (2).

Must have been an off day for the Elizabethton Twins who only managed 7 runs on 9 hit - instead of their usual 2 billion - as they defeated the Johnson City Cardinals, 7-6.

Rene Leveret took a walk to lead off the bottom of the 2nd inning, and wild pitch by the Cardinals Randy Santos moved him to 2nd. Following a pop out to Michael Harrington, Evan Bigley would be hit by a pitch. Jeff Lanning's line drive sent Leveret home before Angel Morales hit his 3rd home run of the season to clear off the bases, giving the E-Twins a 4-0 lead.

Leveret would hit a solo shot home run in the bottom of the 3rd.

Dominic De La Osa reached on a throwing error in the bottom of the fourth, moved to second on Jeanfred Brito's ground single and to 3rd on a wild pitch by Johnson City's Samuel Freeman. Juan Richardson would sacrifice in De La Osa. Jon Waltenbury's ground out moved Brioto to 3rd, a throwing error by Alex Castellanos at 3rd allowed Leverett to reach and Brito to score, for 7 runs.

Curtis Leavitt would work five innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits while fanning five. He'd allow a home run to Nico Vasquez in the top of the 6th before Thom Wright came in to relieve him. Wright would allow 1 run on 2 hits and a walk while fanning 2 in one innings worth of work. Mark Hamburger worked the final 3, allowing 2 runs, earned, on 3 hits while striking out 6.

Lanning was 2-for-3 in the contest with a run and walk and a RBI, Morales was 2-for-4 with a run and 3 RBIs, and Brito was 2-for-5 with a run.

The two teams rematch tonight for a 7:00 PM game.

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Snappers help Bandits out of slump

Quad Cities 4 at Beloit 2

W: N. Additon (5-2, 2.49); L: S. Arias (2-2, 2.59); SV: M. Diapoules (2)
HR: QC: P. Vazquez (1).

Santos Arias has pitched quite well since his promotion from Extended Spring Training, but last night, against the Quad Cities River Bandits, he found that he needs his teammates to lend him a bat from time to time. Unfortunately, the Beloit Snappers only managed four hits, being stoned through the first five innings by Davie, Florida, native Nick Additon, falling to the Cardinals farm team 4-2.

Paul Vazquez would go yard on Arias in the top of the 2nd for a single shot home run, his first of the season. In the top of the 3rd. Adrion Chambers singled and Peter Kosma doubled him in. Kosma would get an extra base on the throw, and a wild pitch by Arias lead to Kozma coming home, making it 3-0 River Bandits.

Arias would work six innings through, giving up three earned runs on 6 hits and a walk while fanning 6 for a quality start. A quality start was nothing to Additon though, who has not allowed a run since May 10, or a hit since May 24.

Charles Nolte worked the next two innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 2 before giving way to Aussie closer Brad Tippett.

With 2 outs on the board in the bottom of the seventh, Steve Singleton hit a ground ball to get on base and Joe Benson followed with a grounder of his own. Chris Parmelee's line drive to right brought in the pair. A throwing error by Chambers gave Parmelee an extra base, but he could not capitalize as Greg Yersich lined out to end the inning.

The only other hit Beloit had would a single by Ben Revere in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Tippett would get Paul Vazquez and Thomas Pham out on strikes before allowing a single to Nick People, who when stole 2nd. Domnit Bolivar singled out to center to bring in People, and advanced to 2nd on a throwing error by Revere. However, Tippett would get Mike Folli to ground out to retire the side.

Mark Dolenc, Ozzie Lewis and Parmelee each struck out twice, while Ramon Santana went 0-for-3 with 3 K's. Everyone in the batting order had at least one strike out, except for Revere who finished up 1-for-3 with a walk.

The teams rematch Tuesday with David Bromberg (3-3, 5.08) throwing out the first pitch at 7:00 PM central time. The R-Bandits pitcher is T.B.D.

With the Midwest League All-Star Game set to be played on Tuesday, June 17, it may not be a stretch to say you will find Additon on the mound for Palm Beach when the Miracle bus trip rolls in on Sunday, June 22.

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