Aside from being tired from early morning travel  and sunburned from some deceptively powerful rays, Friday was a fantastic day of watching the best College Ultimate teams in the country. Pool play and the prequarters are today, with quarterfinal and semifinal action coming tomorrow. The ESPN3 coverage goes live at noon on Sunday, with all four semifinals (two mens’, two womens’) taking center stage.

Like many of you, I had the pleasure of listening to Andrew Kanell filling in on the Salem broadcast last night. He did an excellent job describing the action, and clearly he brought the Sox some good luck! The one-run win snapped a three-game losing streak and was also Salem’s first win at Harry Grove Stadium this year.

Saturday’s game is scheduled for 6 PM, and Andrew will have you covered on ESPN Radio in VA, AM 1240 WGMN Roanoke and online at salemsox.com.

Today’s notes are below…

Wear sunscreen,
Evan

*****

May 25, 2013 6:00 PM Frederick Keys (23-22) vs. Salem Red Sox (20-24) Game #45

Harry Grove Stadium                          Frederick, MD                   Road Game #25

Probable Starters: RHP Mike Augliera (4-0, 3.38) vs RHP Zach Davies (3-2, 4.26)

Nip and Tuck: Friday night was Salem’s 17th one-run decision of the season, the second most in the league. The Red Sox improved to 9-8 in one-run games thanks to a three-run second inning and strong pitching performance from the trio of Mike McCarthy, Matt Price, and Nefi Ogando. In the previous three games, all losses, Salem pitchers had allowed 24 runs on 43 hits. But in limiting the Keys to two runs on five hits, the Sox were able to taste victory in Frederick for the first time all season. The Salem Sox have now won in every ballpark in the league this year, except for Myrtle Beach, where the Sox lost four straight earlier this month.

Average Rising: Another day, and another improvement in Garin Cecchini’s batting average. By going 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch,  Cecchini has reached safely in 28 of his last 29 games, a stretch in which he’s hitting .408 with a .540 OBP. Since April 18, Cecchini’s on-base percentage is the best in all of minor league baseball, with only two other players joining him with OBPs over .500. For the full season, Cecchini’s .376 clip is 51 points higher than the second-best average in the league that qualifies on the leaderboard. His .638 slugging percentage is 72 points better than the second best, and his .485 OBP is 63 points better than the next best.

Heating Back Up: After Sean Coyle endured a miserable nine-game stretch with just one hit, the Red Sox second baseman has rediscovered his groove. In his last six games, Coyle has 10 hits and four walks. He’s hitting .435 in this stretch (10-for-23) with a .500 on-base-percentage. On the season, Coyle is second in the league in home runs (10) and runs scored (31). The second-baseman has also been almost flawless defensively all year long. He made an error on Opening Day in Frederick, but he’s played errorless ball in his last 31 games.

The Five-Timers Club: Mike Augliera takes the mound on Saturday in pursuit of his fifth win of the season. There are currently only three pitchers in the league who have five wins. If not for Frederick’s ninth-inning rally last Sunday, Augliera could have obtained his fifth win already.

The Ultimate Weekend: Salem Red Sox Radio Broadcaster Evan Lepler is not accompanying his team to Frederick. Instead, Lepler will be in Madison, Wisconsin to serve as the color analyst for ESPN’s coverage of the 2013 College Ultimate National Championships. Andrew Kanell, a recent graduate of Syracuse University and an up and coming play-by-play announcer, will fill in for the four games that Lepler misses. Kanell was the radio broadcaster for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League in 2012.

It’s a beautiful day for a double-dip here in the Roanoke Valley, and the Sox and Dash are ready for two on Thursday evening.

A quick update on Salem’s coming rotation for its weekend series against Frederick:

Friday: RHP Mike Augliera
Saturday: LHP Henry Owens
Sunday: RHP Heri Quevedo

Owens will be pitching on extra rest after the Red Sox skipped him on Wednesday, while Quevedo will make his second start of the year (his first in a nine-inning scheduled game). Quevedo enters William Cuevas’ spot in the rotation, with Cuevas getting a bit of extra rest for the first time this season.

On Memorial Day, the Sox will be in Woodbridge, VA to face Potomac, and it’s unclear who will be on the mound on Monday.

Tonight, Salem has Kyle Stroup in game one and Mike McCarthy in game two.

If you’re interested, here’s Salem’s game one lineup:

First pitch comes your way at 5:05 tonight!

Lastly, this blog may be slightly less busy for the next four days. While I’m sad to leave the Salem Sox for the long weekend, I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work for ESPN as the color analyst for the College National Championships of Ultimate Frisbee. I’m off to Madison, Wisconsin on Friday morning for the four day events.

I’ll be handling the color commentary for all four semifinals on Sunday (two mens’, two womens’) and the two finals on Monday, all of which can be watched on ESPN3. On Wednesday night, both championship games will air on ESPNU.

If you’ve never seen ultimate before, check it out! It’s much more complex that you could possibly imagine, with 20 mens’ and womens’ teams from around North America having qualified for Nationals in pursuit of a championship. Just like basketball and football, there are offensive and defensive sets, plays, and strategies. And if you love watching Torii Hunter make diving catches in the gaps in baseball, amazing horizontal layout snags are commonplace on the ultiamte field, one of the many reasons I love the sport.

I played four years of competitive club ultimate in college and can’t wait to share my passion for the game with a national audience!

That’s me. I can actually jump a little bit.

But first, a doubleheader is on tap at the LG…

Talk to you at 5 PM on ESPN Radio in VA, AM 1240 WGMN Roanoke and online at salemsox.com…

-Evan

On May 4, the Salem Sox took the field trying to squelch a four-game losing streak. The previous night, the Sox had been bulldozed by the Dash, 10-1. But Henry Owens took the mound that Saturday night in Winston-Salem, and everything worked out ok.

Can we see this movie again?

Last night, the Salem Sox endured an 11-1 beating, finishing the game with a season-low three hits. But Wednesday’s a new day, and the tall lefty will retake the mound for his ninth start of the season tonight. In a bizarre scheduling quirk, this will be Owens’ first start at LewisGale Field since April 23; his last four starts have all been on the road.

Henry Owens enjoyed the preseason snow we received on Opening Day eve at LewisGale Field.

Here’s some more good news: At home this year, Owens has a 2.25 ERA, and in his previous start against the Dash, the Big O dominated with a career-high 10 strikeouts. He allowed just two hits in six innings on that night at BB&T Ballpark, helping the Red Sox roll to a fantastic 9-4 bounce-back victory. Let’s hope we can see a similar story unfold tonight.

UPDATED: So, it turns out Henry Owens will not take the mound tonight. As the Red Sox often do with young pitching prospects, Owens will be skipped to gain some extra rest this one time in the first half. He’s tentatively scheduled to throw again on Saturday in Frederick.

Hence, the Sox will look for Kyle Stroup to deliver a strong outing tonight. Stroup will be pitching on normal rest as a result of the Monday off day.

Here’s Salem’s lineup:

Today’s game notes, hot off the presses, are below…

And the radio broadcast commences at 7 PM; you know where to find us!

Talk to you soon,
Evan

*****

May 22, 2013 7:05 PM Winston-Salem Dash (22-21) vs. Salem Red Sox (19-23) Game #43

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #20

Probable Starters: RHP Chris Beck (2-6, 2.80) vs LHP Henry Owens (3-1, 3.35)

Tuesday Trauma: The Red Sox suffered arguably their roughest loss of the season last night, dropping the opener to Winston-Salem 11-1. Salem also lost 11-1 on April 5 in Frederick in the first game of the season, but the Sox were held to a season-low three hits on Tuesday night. In fact, the Red Sox did not muster a single hit after the fourth inning. On the other hand, while the Sox were held to just one run, they did score for the 61st consecutive game, the longest active streak in the league. Salem’s the only club in the Carolina League that has not been shut out this season, and you have to go back to August 12, 2012 in Wilmington to find the last time that the Sox have been blanked. The Red Sox are 1-0 in shutouts this year, while the Dash are 5-1.

The Blair Pitch Project: Catcher Carson Blair only played in one of the seven games of Salem’s recent week-long road trip, going 1-for-3. During the current homestand, however, the Sox have ridden Blair’s hot bat. He’s started every game, twice as the catcher and twice as the DH, and he’s reached base at a ridiculous rate. In his last four games, Blair has gone 7-for-12 with four walks, reaching base an amazing 11 times in 16 plate appearances. This four-game stretch has raised his batting average from .214 to .325, which would be tied for second in the league if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. In addition, his .460 OBP for the year would be second in the league if he qualified.

Home Streak Snapped: While Garin Cecchini went hitless on Tuesday night to snap his stretch of 12 straight home games with a knock, his one walk perpetuated his reaching base rhythm.  Cecchini has reached safely in 26 of his last 27 games, a stretch in which he’s hitting .404 with a .525 OBP. Since April 18, Cecchini’s on-base percentage is the best in all of minor league baseball, with only two other players joining him with OBPs over .500. For the full season, Cecchini’s .372 clip is 47 points higher than the second-best average in the league that qualifies on the leaderboard. His .642 slugging percentage is 100 points better than the second best, and his .472 OBP is 50 points better than the next best.

Third Time’s the Charm?: Henry Owens takes his third crack at his fourth win of the year on Wednesday night, having not earned a victory since he dominated Winston-Salem with a career-high 10 strikeouts on May 4. He allowed just two hits in six innings on that night in North Carolina, but since he has permitted 13 hits in just 8.1 innings. Last time out, he allowed just one run on eight hits, but Salem could not hang on to its eighth-inning lead on Thursday night in Zebulon. Owens enters the night with 49 strikeouts, third most in the league.

Can Coyle Connect?: Sean Coyle is still second in the league in home runs even though he has not gone yard since May 4 in Winston-Salem. He took Chris Beck deep twice in the first two innings that day, while the righthander has only been taken out of the park two times in his other 43 innings on the hill this season. Beck is searching for his first win since April 18, having lost his last five decisions.

Good afternoon from the LG…

A day off during the baseball season is precious and full of limitness possibility. Despite that, ‘absolutely nothing’ is by far the most common answer when I ask players, “What did you do yesterday?”

During the grind, doing nothing is indeed a luxury. And while some guys play golf or explore the area, the vast majority prefer to embrace the emptyness to the schedule. It’s a dynamic that you really can only truly understand if you’ve been through the constant chaos of the baseball season.

And it’s a good idea to be somewhat rested as the action ramps up again tonight, since we are starting an incredibly grueling period of play. Over the next four weeks, the Salem Sox will take the field for 29 games in 27 days. There are no scheduled off days in this stretch.

So it’s good thing that a lot of guys did nothing when they had the chance.

The Winston-Salem Dash arrive for their first series in Salem this year. The Sox took two out of three from the White Sox-affiliate in North Carolina earlier this month.

Salem did make one roster move today. Outfielder Matty Johnson has been promoted to Portland, while outfielder Kevin Heller joins Salem from extended spring training in Fort Myers. Heller was drafted in the 40th round last year out of Amherst College, the alma mater of Boston Red Sox General Manager Ben Cherington.

Kevin Heller

Hope you can make us a part of your Tuesday night, as the broadcast begins at 7 PM on ESPN Radio in VA, AM 1240 WGMN and online at salemsox.com.

UPDATED: Here’s tonight’s lineup

Game notes are below…

Sure would be nice to see the Bruins go up 3-0,
Evan

*****

May 21, 2013 7:05 PM Winston-Salem Dash (21-21) vs. Salem Red Sox (19-22) Game #42

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #19

Probable Starters: RHP Chris Bassitt (4-1, 3.25) vs RHP William Cuevas (1-4, 6.60)

SWEE….: Yes, the Salem Sox have been so close to a pair of sweeps in their last two series, but have fallen short both teams. In each case, the Sox won the first two games of the three-game set and took a lead into the ninth inning in the finale. But on Thursday in Zebulon and Sunday in Salem, the Sox bullpen could not hang on. The Mudcats scored three in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off on the Sox 5-4 last Thursday in North Carolina, while the Keys scored three in the top of the ninth to prevail 6-4 on Sunday afternoon in Virginia. Prior to Thursday, the Red Sox had only lost once when leading after eight innings; now, Salem’s 17-3 when ahead after eight. Alas, the Red Sox enter this series with the Dash having won consecutive series for the first time this month. Winston arrives after having pulled off an actual three-game sweep over Potomac.

Race to the Finish Line: Tuesday’s action with Winston-Salem commences a grueling stretch of uninterrupted baseball for the Salem Sox. With Monday serving as the final scheduled off day before the All-Star Break, the Red Sox will play 29 games in the next 27 days to finish the first half. This includes a pair of doubleheaders with Lynchburg, one at home and one on the road. The Salem Sox will spend the vast majority of this four-week stretch at home, however, with 18 of the 29 games scheduled for LewisGale Field. In addition, four more games will be in Lynchburg, which is a location that Salem commutes to and back from during the series. The Red Sox begin the day seven games back of the first-place Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Home Cooking: After missing the previous two games following a rolled ankle last Tuesday night, the league’s #1 hitter picked up right where he left off. Garin Cecchini went 6-for-12 with two walks, a HBP, and three RBI in the Frederick series, raising his league-best batting average to .381. He also possesses a 12-game home hitting streak, in which he is batting a ridiculous .488 (21-for-43) with nine walks for an OBP of .585. Cecchini has reached base in 25 of his last 26 games, a stretch in which he’s hitting .418 with a .535 OBP. Since April 18, Cecchini’s on-base percentage is the best in all of minor league baseball, with only three other players joining him with OBPs over .500. In 37 games played, Cecchini has 18 multi-hit efforts.

Da La Cruzin’: Salem outfielder Keury De La Cruz went hitless (0-for-9) in the first two games of the road trip last week, but since then he’s gone 11-for-28 (.392). He’s riding a seven-game hitting streak into Sunday afternoon, his second-longest hitting streak of the season. From April 21-29, De La Cruz recorded an eight-game streak. Like many members of the Salem Sox, he has overcome a slow start and is beginning to heat up. Since starting the season 2-for-16, he has hit .273 in his last 34 games.

Doubling Deven: Shortstop Deven Marrero has been limited to just 19 of Salem’s first 41 games because of injury, but he has 11 doubles in those 19 games, only four behind the league leader. If he had played 38 games, a reasonable amount if he’d been healthy, he’d be on pace for 22  doubles. Kevin Plawecki and Ji-Man Choi lead MiLB with 19 doubles.

Good afternoon from an overcast LewisGale Field,

The Salem Sox have 30 games remaining in the first half and exactly 100 left on the season. The squad is off on Monday before it plays 29 games in 27 days heading into the All-Star Break.

Currently in the Carolina League, there are 11 four-game winners. Nobody has won five games. That will change if the starters earn decisions today.

Mike Augliera is 4-0, while Eduardo Rodriguez is 4-2, and the two hurlers go head-to-head at 4:05.

It’s a great afternoon to watch and listen to sports, with Bruins-Rangers game two and Spurs-Grizzlies game one, not to mention the BoSox going for the sweep. Hope you can spend part of your afternoon with us following the Salem Sox…

Today’s notes are below, and the broadcast kicks off at 4 PM on ESPN Radio, AM 1240 WGMN Roanoke and online at salemsox.com.

UPDATED: Here’s today’s lineup

Go Bruins!
Evan

*****

May 19, 2013 4:05 PM Frederick Keys (21-20) vs. Salem Red Sox (19-21) Game #41

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #18

Probable Starters: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2, 3.35) vs RHP Mike Augliera (4-0, 3.12)

Retribution: When Salem and Frederick met on April 5-7 to begin the season, the Keys won all three games, blowing out the Sox on Friday before winning a pair of nailbiters on Saturday and Sunday. So far, this weekend has followed almost the precisely same script, with the home team doing the winning again. The Red Sox garnered their biggest margin of victory this season on Friday night with a 10-2 triumph before narrowly sneaking past the Keys 3-2 on Saturday night. Sunday’s pitching matchup suggests that the finale could be another low-scoring, close game. Both Eduardo Rodriguez and Mike Augliera are making their first appearance against the opposing squad. Both are also coming off a dominant performance; Rodriguez dealt seven scoreless against Lynchburg this past Tuesday, while Augliera tossed six scoreless against Carolina on Tuesday.

The Ankle Seems OK: After missing the previous two games following a rolled ankle on Tuesday night, the league’s #1 hitter picked up right where he left off. Garin Cecchini has gone 5-for-9 with two walks and two RBI in the first two games of the Frederick series, raising his league-best batting average to .382. His .477 OBP and his .664 slugging percentage are both tops in the league too, as is his total of 23 extra-base hits. Cecchini has reached base in 24 of his last 25 games, a stretch in which he’s hitting .420 with a .536 OBP. Since April 18, Cecchini’s on-base percentage is the best in all of minor league baseball, with only two other players joining him with OBPs over .500. In 36 games played, Cecchini has 18 multi-hit efforts.

Doubling Deven: Shortstop Deven Marrero has been limited to just 19 of Salem’s first 40 games because of injury, but he has 11 doubles in those 19 games, only four behind the league leader. If he had played 38 games, a reasonable amount if he’d been healthy, he’d be on pace for 22  doubles. Kevin Plawecki leads MiLB with 19 doubles.

Seven Straight: Salem outfielder Keury De La Cruz went hitless (0-for-9) in the first two games of the road trip last week, but since then he’s gone 11-for-28 (.392). He’s riding a seven-game hitting streak into Sunday afternoon, his second-longest hitting streak of the season. From April 21-29, De La Cruz recorded an eight-game streak. Like many members of the Salem Sox, he has overcome a slow start and is beginning to heat up. Since starting the season 2-for-16, he has hit .273 in his last 34 games.

Double Digit Dynamos: Prior to Friday night, the Salem Sox were the only team in the league that had not scored at least 10 runs in a game this year. Although Salem broke through that barrier, a fact that remains true is that Salem still has the lowest season-high in runs; every other team has scored at least 11 once this season. In 2012, the Sox scored double digit runs on 12 different occasions, maxing out at 16 runs in a win over Potomac on June 28. While no one in the Carolina League surpassed 16 runs in a game last year, the Wilmington Blue Rocks have scored 18 once this season. The Blue Rocks pounded Frederick 18-5 in a seven-inning doubleheader game on May 11 at Harry Grove Stadium.

Catcher Carson Blair crushed a titanic three-run homer in Friday’s victory.

We’ll see what happens tonight, but if the Red Sox can deliver another dynamite offensive performance in the special pink tops, they could become permanent!

On Friday, the Salem Sox registered season highs in runs (10), hits (15), and extra-base hits (8). A five-run third inning broke it open, and Carson Blair’s seventh inning three-run blast was the cherry on top of the scrumptious sundae.

Over the next two days, the Salem Sox will be relying on Mike ‘n Mike. Not Greenberg and Golic, but McCarthy and Augliera. And frankly, while I enjoy the former, I bet the latter could be a pretty strong radio duo too. Both McCarthy and Augliera joined me on the airwaves last Sunday in Myrtle Beach, and each was insightful and interesting in his own way.

If you missed Thursday’s pregame chat with Matt Gedman, take a listen:

Today’s broadcast kicks off at 6 PM on ESPN Radio in VA, AM 1240 WGMN Roanoke and online at salemsox.com.

Here’s Salem’s lineup:

Today’s Game Notes are below…

Talk soon,
Evan

*****

May 18, 2013 6:05 PM Frederick Keys (21-19) vs. Salem Red Sox (18-21) Game #40

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #17

Probable Starters: RHP Zach Davies (3-2, 4.43) vs RHP Mike McCarthy (2-2, 4.73)

Payback: Up until Friday night, Salem had beaten every team in the league except for Frederick. The Keys swept the Sox in the season’s opening series, with Salem mustering only four runs on 15 hits over the entire series. In addition, the Keys were riding high upon arrival to town, having delivered their best offensive performance of the season on Thursday night in Lynchburg. But it was all Sox on Friday, with Salem registering season highs in runs, hits, and extra-base hits in the 10-2 rout. Five Red Sox delivered multiple hits in the 15-hit explosion. Bizarrely, Frederick actually had baserunners in more innings than Salem, only going 1-2-3 one time, but the Keys left 11 on base and Salem’s three pitchers—Kyle Stroup, Chris Balcom-Miller, and Nate Striz—all worked well to escape situations.

No Signs of Rust: After missing the previous two games following a rolled ankle on Tuesday night, the league’s #1 hitter picked up right where he left off. Garin Cecchini went 3-for-5 with a walk and two RBI on Salem’s Friday victory, raising his league-best batting average to .378. His .473 OBP and his .669 slugging percentage are both tops in the league too, as is his total of 23 extra-base hits. Cecchini has reached base in 23 of his last 24 games, a stretch in which he’s hitting .417 with a .533 OBP. Over the past month, Cecchini’s on-base percentage is the best in all of minor league baseball. Only two other players have OBPs above .500 since April 18.

Coyle’s Catharsis: After mustering just one hit in his previous nine games, second-baseman Sean Coyle collected two singles, a walk, three runs, and stole three bases on Thursday night in Zebulon. This snapped 0-for-27 and 1-for-36 skids. On Friday, his offensive reemergence continued with three more hits, bringing his season average back up to .252.  But Friday night also dropped Coyle to second in the league in the home run list, as Lynchburg’s Robbie Hefflinger surpassed him with his tenth homer of the season.

Keury Connecting: Salem outfielder Keury De La Cruz went hitless (0-for-9) in the first two games of the road trip last week, but since then he’s gone 10-for-24 (.417). He’s riding a six-game hitting streak into Saturday night, his second-longest hitting streak of the season. From April 21-29, De La Cruz recorded an eight-game streak. Like many members of the Salem Sox, he has overcome a slow start and is beginning to heat up. Since starting the season 2-for-16, he has hit .274 in his last 33 games.

Double Digit Dynamos: Prior to Friday night, the Salem Sox were the only team in the league that had not scored at least 10 runs in a game this year. Although Salem broke through that barrier, a fact that remains true is that Salem still has the lowest season-high in runs; every other team has scored at least 11 once this season. In 2012, the Sox scored double digit runs on 12 different occasions, maxing out at 16 runs in a win over Potomac on June 28. While no one in the Carolina League surpassed 16 runs in a game last year, the Wilmington Blue Rocks have scored 18 once this season. The Blue Rocks pounded Frederick 18-5 in a seven-inning doubleheader game on May 11 at Harry Grove Stadium.

Busy day…

A couple extra nuggets from Henry Owens start last night. In five innings, he tossed 84 pitches, 59 strikes. His final line: 5 IP, 8 H, R, ER, 4 K, 0 BB. 

Incredibly, he tossed 60 of his 84 pitches from the stretch. That includes one 1-2-3 inning, with 12 pitches from the windup. So aside from that, 60 of his 72 tosses came with a runner on base.

Yea, he made some big-time clutch throws to escape with just one run allowed. If not for Carolina’s three-run rally to win 5-4 in the, Owens would have earned his fourth victory of the season. For the year, he’s 3-1 with a 3.35 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 13 walks.

It is Pink in the Park Weekend in Salem, with players wearing special pink jerseys on Friday and Saturday night. The tops will be autographed and auctioned off for charity.

They’re relatively simple looking, but pretty classy!

In lineup news, Garin Cecchini is back!

It’s nice to be back home! Broadcast begins at 7 PM…

Game notes below… Talk to you soon!

Evan

*****

May 17, 2013 7:05 PM Frederick Keys (21-18) vs. Salem Red Sox (17-21) Game #39

LewisGale Field                      Salem, VA                   Home Game #16

Probable Starters: RHP Zach Petersime (1-3, 7.06) vs RHP Kyle Stroup (1-2, 4.18)

We Meet Again: Exactly six weeks after Salem and Frederick opened the season against one another in Maryland, the Red Sox and Keys renew acquaintances tonight at LewisGale Field. Interestingly, the two clubs have almost the exact same record since parting ways on April 7. Frederick swept the season opening series with one rout and two walk-off wins, starting the year 3-0. Since then, the Keys have gone 18-18, while the Salem Sox have gone 17-18 since the 0-3 start. Frederick is locked in a tight divisional race in the North, currently trailing both Lynchburg and Potomac by half a game. Salem, stuck in the division with far and away the best team in the league thus far, is eight games back of the 26-14 Myrtle Beach Pelicans, one of just nine teams in baseball that’s at least 12 games over .500 entering the weekend.

Like TNT, We Know Drama: So far this season, more than one in every five Red Sox games has ended in walk-off fashion. All together, Salem has been involved with eight walk-offs in 38 games, with six of them, including Thursday night in Carolina, being heartbreaking walk-off losses. Here’s the crazy thing: In 2011, Salem suffered seven walk-off losses during its season, but the first did not even occur until June 6. In 2013, May is just barely beyond the midway point, and the Sox have already experienced a half-dozen crushers. The Keys handed the Sox back-to-back walk-off defeats on April 6 and 7 in the second and third games of the season at Harry Grove Stadium.

Brace Yourself: If everything goes according to plan, Kyle Stroup will take the mound tonight without a bulky knee brace for the first time this season. The righthander tore his ACL on March 19, 2012 and missed the entire 2012 season, but pitched in instructional league in the fall and the first month of the season with the brace. With the knee feeling strong, Stroup is hopeful for greater flexibility and comfort without the mechanism clinging to his leg. This is the second time he’s gone through this brace removal process. He operated under a similar timetable in 2011 after he also missed the 2010 season with a torn ACL, suffered exactly two years prior to the first injury, on March 19, 2010.

Coyle’s Catharsis: After mustering just one hit in his previous nine games, second-baseman Sean Coyle collected two singles, a walk, three runs, and stole three bases on Thursday night in Zebulon. This snapped 0-for-27 and 1-for-36 skids. While he has not homered in his last ten games, he shares the league lead with nine home runs.

#1 in Most Offensive Categories, Excluding Nose Hairs: Salem third baseman Garin Cecchini is listed as day-to-day with a relatively minor sprained ankle, suffered while making a catch on a foul pop up in Tuesday’s game. He rolled his ankle on the lip of the grass and left the game in the sixth. He did not play on Wednesday or Thursday, but Cecchini still leads the league in numerous offensive categories, including hitting (.366), on-base percentage (.462), slugging percentage (.659), and extra-base hits (22).  He has reached base in 22 of his last 23 games with a .400 average and a .520 on-base percentage since April 18.

It’s another sunny afternoon here in central North Carolina, where the Red Sox will look to finish their week-long trip with three straight wins after it started with four consecutive losses.

Henry Owens, aka The Big O, will make his eighth start of the year for Salem. He’s been very, very good, and he’s third in the league in strikeouts, but he is coming off his bumpiest outing of the season, in which he surrendered three home runs and did not make it through the fourth inning.

Find Henry on Twitter @Howens_BigO

The tall, skinny lefty is facing a Carolina club that is hitting .268 as a team, #1 in the league. Incredibly, despite the top overall batting average, the Mudcats have averaged the fewest runs per game in the circuit. Carolina has scored just 4.1 runs/game, and they are currently a league-worst 13-26 on the season. Astoundingly, the Indians-affiliate has not won in their home stadium since April 25; the Mudcats have dropped nine straight home games since then!

For your listening enjoyment, here’s last night’s pregame chatter with Chris Balcom-Miller. Topics of discussion include his injury-riddled spring, his phenomenal arsenal of tattoos, and his brotherly bond with Salem catcher Blake Swihart. Enjoy:

 Today’s game notes are below, and we hit the airwaves at 7 PM on ESPN Radio in VA, AM 1240 WGMN Roanoke, and online at salemsox.com. First pitch is at 7:15.

UPDATED: Here’s tonight’s lineup

Go Bruins,
Evan

*****

May 16, 2013 7:15 PM Salem Red Sox (17-20) vs. Carolina Mudcats (13-26) Game #38

Five County Stadium                          Zebulon, NC                    Road Game #23

Probable Starters: LHP Henry Owens (3-1, 3.57) vs RHP Robert Whitenack (0-0, –) 

It Only Takes One: Salem dropped five one-run decisions in the first two weeks of May,  with the close losses adding up and hurting the Sox in their 3-9 start to the month. But over the past two days, turnabout has been fair play. The Red Sox have earned consecutive one-run triumphs over Carolina to put them in a position to go for the series sweep this evening. Over the course of the season, Salem and Carolina have both played 14 one-run games, tied for the most in the league. The Red Sox have gone 7-7 in these contests, while the Mudcats have been miserable, earning just three close wins compared to 11 one-run losses.

There’s a First Time for Everything: Salem reliever Heri Quevedo is not the normal Latin American rookie. Most young ballplayers from the Dominican Republic or Venezuela sign with pro teams at age 16 or 17, but Quevedo, who’s in his first pro season right now, will turn 23 in June. Plagued by command issues, he has had an up-and-down season thus far, inauspiciously leading the pitching staff in walks issued. But on Wednesday night, Quevedo picked up a well-deserved victory, his first win as a member of the Red Sox organization. For the first time all year, he did not walk a single batter! It’s even more impressive when you note that he was on the mound for a season-high four and two-thirds innings, working in a piggyback role behind starter William Cuevas. Only tonight’s starter, Henry Owens, has more strikeouts than Quevedo on the season. 

Bronze Blake: Since starting the year 2-for-18 in his first five games, Salem catcher Blake Swihart has been one of the most consistent hitters in the entire league. In his last 23 games, Swihart has gone 25-for-81 (.309) with four doubles and four triples. In fact, since April 13, his .309 clip is third-best in the league behind Garin Cecchini, and Wilmington’s Jorge Bonifacio. Defensively, Swihart has also been one of the best backstops in the circuit. On the season, he’s thrown out 12-of-31 baserunners, a 38.7% caught-stealing clip which is second in the league only to Potomac’s Adrian Nieto.

Like Father, Like Son: Rich Gedman preached approach and patience during his time as Salem’s Hitting Coach in 2012. With Rich now coaching in Portland, his son, Matt, has joined the Salem Sox and made a huge impact in one week with the squad. In four games, Gedman has hit .308 with a .357 on-base percentage, going 4-for-13 with one walk. Three of his four hits have gone for extra-bases, with two doubles and one homer. Gedman’s RBI double was the difference on Wednesday, transforming a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead.

Checking Cecchini: Salem third baseman Garin Cecchini is listed as day-to-day with a relatively minor sprained ankle, suffered while making a catch on a foul pop up in Tuesday’s game. He rolled his ankle on the lip of the grass and left the game in the sixth. He did not play on Wednesday, but Cecchini still leads the league in numerous offensive categories, including hitting (.366), on-base percentage (.462), slugging percentage (.659), doubles (13), and extra-base hits (22).  He has reached base in 22 of his last 23 games with a .400 average and a .520 on-base percentage since April 18.

Good afternoon once again from Five County Stadium!

If by some chance you missed the ridiculous ramblings about meeting, interviewing, and stumping Mr. Belding, check it out here!

Two days away from returning home, the Salem Sox are hoping to make it two straight victories over the Carolina Mudcats tonight.

Last night, Salem was completely powered by its battery. Starting pitcher Mike Augliera tossed six brilliant scoreless innings, while catcher Blake Swihart commanded all nine at the dish, chipping in two hits, an RBI, and a stolen base on the offensive side.

Blake Swihart: Improving defensively every day

Swihart is now hitting .312 in his last 23 games, a great sign for the first-round pick that Boston invested a large chunk of money in after the 2011 draft. For fans curious about Swihart’s defense, one major league scout told me over the weekend that he could absolutely see Swihart as a solid major league catcher in a few years. He’s still developing, but he’s on the right track.

Here’s my recent chat with Swihart that aired on last night’s pregame show:

The latest collection of number nuggets are below, and tonight’s broacast kicks off at 7 PM sharp on ESPN Radio, AM 1240 WGMN Roanoke and online at salemsox.com. First pitch is at 7:15.

UPDATE: Here’s tonight’s lineup

Mr. Belding endorses me,
Evan

*****

May 15, 2013 7:15 PM Salem Red Sox (16-20) vs. Carolina Mudcats (13-25) Game #37

Five County Stadium                          Zebulon, NC                    Road Game #22

Probable Starters: RHP William Cuevas (1-4, 6.66) vs RHP Jacob Lee (0-3, 5.91)

Squashing the Skid: Salem tasted victory for the first time in a week on Tuesday night, snapping their six-game losing streak with a 2-1 win. With Myrtle Beach’s loss, the Sox inched back to within seven games of first place. One week ago, the Sox were only two games back (and just one in the loss column), but the Pelicans six-game winning streak combined with Salem’s skid created some significant separation at the midway point of the first half pennant race. The Red Sox also handed Carolina their fifth straight setback overall, and the Mudcats have dropped their last eight home games heading into Wednesday’s action.

An Old School Pitcher’s Duel: For the second time in less than a week, Salem’s Mike Augliera and Carolina’s Cody Anderson went head-to-head and both pitched brilliantly. Last Thursday, the Mudcats garnered a 2-1 victory in the opener of a doubleheader at LewisGale Field, while the Red Sox retaliated with a 2-1 win of their own behind Augliera on Tuesday evening at Five County Stadium. Augliera improved to 4-0 and has now allowed just seven earned runs over 29.1 innings in his last five starts, an ERA of 2.15 in this time with 22 strikeouts and six walks. Among all minor league pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched, Augliera is just one of seven who has not allowed a single home run. At the Advanced-A level, there’s only one other pitcher (Fort Myers’ Matthew Summers) who has pitched 40 innings without surrendering a long-ball.

Blake’s Boost: Since starting the year 2-for-18 in his first five games, Salem catcher Blake Swihart has been one of the most consistent hitters in the entire league. In his last 23 games, Swihart has gone 24-for-77 (.312) with four doubles and four triples. In fact, since April 13, his .312 clip is fourth-best in the league behind Garin Cecchini, Jorge Bonifacio, and Zane Chavez. Defensively, Swihart has also been one of the best backstops in the circuit. On the season, he’s thrown out 11-of-30 baserunners, a 36.7% caught-stealing clip which is second in the league only to Potomac’s Adrian Nieto.

Williams’ Woes: William Cuevas has been two different pitchers this year. In his four starts in which he has not given up any long-balls, he’s 1-2 with 2.25 ERA, surrendering just five earned runs in 20 innings. In his two other starts, however, he has surrendered four home runs, all multi-run shots that produced 12 total runs! Overall, he is 0-2 with a 22.2 ERA in those starts, yielding 14 earned runs in just 5.2 innings. While Cuevas has struggled at times, he has received basically zero run support all season (two runs/game).

Checking Cecchini: The league’s leading hitter endured a rare hitless night on Tuesday, finishing 0-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch last night. He left the game in the sixth inning after rolling his ankle on the lip of the grass in pursuit of a foul pop up. Despite the quiet night, he still leads the league in numerous offensive categories, including hitting (.366), on-base percentage (.462), slugging percentage (.659), doubles (13), and extra-base hits (22).  He has reached base in 22 of his last 23 games with a .400 average and a .520 on-base percentage since April 18.

What did you do after school when you were in elementary school and middle school?

The memories are always slightly muddled, but here’s what I think I did: played sports, did homework, hung out with friends, and watched Saved By The Bell. I watched a lot of Saved By The Bell. Usually at 5 and 5:30 every day. If only Kornheiser and Wilbon had started yapping on ESPN sooner, perhaps I wouldn’t embarrass myself with this revealing blog post.

I saw every episode. And over the years, I saw every episode multiple times. Probably dozens of times. The Miss Bliss ones. The Tory ones. Even the College Years ones. (I did skip out on the New Class seasons. Belding and Screech were fine and fun, but Saved By The Bell needs Zach Morris. Without that common denominator, the New Class never grabbed me.)

Many aspects of the show, like Zack’s phone, don’t stand the test of time. I don’t care.

But anyway, you get the point. I grew up with Saved By The Bell. I loved Saved By The Bell.

And I know Saved By The Bell. Seriously, I really know it inside and out. We all have our own areas of expertise, and one of mine, for better or worse, is Saved By The Bell trivia. Even without watching the show in many years (Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I actually watched an episode), I’m still quite confident that I could answer most of your trivia questions regarding even the smallest tidbits of minutiae. Would it be better if I actually used this space in my brain for something more productive? Yes. I realize that. But every now and again my precise Saved By The Bell memory helps me out in some way.

So when we arrived in Myrtle Beach last Friday and I discovered that Dennis Haskins aka Mr. Belding would be on hand for Saturday’s ballgame for “Teacher Appreciation Night,” I was fired up. Might I get to meet Belding? Could he possibly join me for a half inning on the radio? Would he dare to test my immense Saved By The Bell knowledge?

Well, it turned out the answer to all of those questions was yes!

He joined me in the bottom of the first inning, just after we had scored four runs in the top of the first. With Salem ace Henry Owens on the mound, I feared a dominant six-pitch inning might give me just two or three minutes with Belding.

I like Henry Owens and would never root for him to struggle, but he picked the right inning to have his nadir of the 2013 season so far. The first five Pelicans reached, there was one mound visit, two home runs, and 13 minutes passed before I had to say goodbye to Mr. B.

Max was a magical man. The restaurant, not to mention Zack & Kelly’s relationship, went downhill when Jeff took over.

But at some point during our chat, he realized that I was truly a Saved By The Bell nut. Maybe when I knew that Ed Alonzo ran The Max. And deep down, I think he really appreciated that. It didn’t hurt that I knew exactly where Belding was from and where he went to college (Thanks, Wikipedia!). As the conversation progressed and I peppered him with questions about some of his Saved By The Bell colleagues (He’s still in touch with Miss Bliss and Mr. Dewey, but unfortunately Mr. Tuttle passed away), his cameo as the “Head of Desserts” on AMC’s Mad Men last season (“I was trending”), and whether he even watched the “Malibu Sands” episodes (“No!” Deep down, there’s some inner vengeance toward Leon Carosi).

Numerous times, he would pivot back to baseball, telling me about Henry Owens’ leg-kick and how minor league baseball is for the fans yada yada yada. But I seriously had so many questions, he could have been with me for the entire four-game series and I barely would have scratched the surface. Plus, I did owe it to our loyal listeners to provide the basic play-by-play of the events of the inning. Belding also decided to drop in that his buddy from N’Sync was in town (Chris Kirkpatrick, not JT, but he does know Justin!), and he’d be hanging out with him after the game.

Slater and Artie

When the inning finally ended, our conversation naturally spilled into the break. Off the air, we took a picture and I asked if he had any other trivia questions for me. He proceeded to ask me if I knew what Slater’s pet chameleon was named? I thought about it for about 0.003 seconds and replied “Artie,” which was the correct answer. I asked him if he remembered the name of the leading flea in Screech’s flea circus, and he did not know! (The answer is “Zondo”) So yea, I stumped Mr. Belding.

I thought that was it. He left the booth and I grabbed the headset about five seconds after my bumpback music had ended to return to the airwaves for the top of the second, at which point he comes back into my booth and grabs my microphone and says, “Best trivia guy I’ve ever met, right here in the booth fans. Mr. Belding endorses Evan.” And he walked back out, leaving me to try and gather myself to do play-by-play for the top of the second. I was justifiably frazzled.

I was mostly thinking about how ridiculous and absurd this scene would have seemed to 10-year-old Evan, who watched Saved By The Bell basically every day. Looking back, I don’t even know why I liked the show so much. Putting it in a bigger context, there were and are other shows I like more (If only I could ever meet Mr. Feeny!). But because Saved By The Bell was so much a part of my routine, I think back on it with such nostalgia. For better or worse, it was a tremendously large part of my childhood television experience.

After the Salem Sox lost 9-8 in a dramatic walk-off finish, I tweeted at Mr. Belding (How ridiculous is it that his Twitter handle is actually @MrBelding!?). Around 1:30 AM, presumably after he had finished harmonizing with Chris Kirkpatrick, he replied.

@evanlepler the best Bell trivia contestant ever!

— Dennis Haskins (@mrbelding) May 12, 2013

Wow. Just wow. Maybe Dennis Haskins was just being nice. Maybe he actually was genuinely impressed. But it was pretty ridiculous to wake up the next morning and share with people the preposterous sentence, “Yea, Mr. Belding tweeted at me last night.”

I retweeted Mr. Belding’s praise, and seconds later, this e-mail popped up on my phone.

Yea, that happened too.

Here’s the complete audio from the bottom of the first this past Saturday night:

And here’s the brief beginning to the top of the second, when he lavished me with his impromptu endorsement:

Lastly, a couple photos of me and Mr. B:

It’s alllllright, cause I’m saved by the… It’s alllllright, cause I’m saved by the… It’s alllllright, cause I’m saved by the bell!

(Crazy piano riff outro thingie)