Flashback: April in the South Atlantic League

April 6 -- Greenville's first game at brand-new West End Field was a memorable one as Phil Seibel, Hunter Jones and Blake Maxwell combined on a one-hitter in the Drive's 6-1 win over the Columbus Catfish. Seibel pitched 3 2/3 perfect innings before yielding a home run to Jesus Soto in the fourth. Jones, who notched the win, hurled three perfect frames, and Maxwell retired the side in the ninth. The trio totaled 12 strikeouts and did not walk a batter.

April 6 -- Lake County's Kevin Dixon hurled six no-hit innings as the Captains blanked the Hickory Crawdads, 2-0. The 22-year-old right-hander, who earned a promotion to Class A Advanced Kinston the following month, struck out six, walked one and was removed with his no-no intact. Dixon didn't factor into the decision, however, as Crawdads starter Louis Valdez countered with seven shutout frames. Jose Costanza's RBI single in the eighth snapped the scoreless tie and made a winner of reliever Matthew Loberg.

April 7 -- Gaby Sanchez's walk-off grand slam lifted the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a dramatic 9-6 victory over the Hagerstown Suns. The 22-year-old catcher's clutch blast was his second homer in as many days and made a winner of Daniel Barone, who allowed just one hit over three scoreless innings of relief.

April 8 -- Gaby Sanchez continued his torrid start to the season by capping a 5-for-5 performance with a two-run walk-off homer that gave Greensboro an 8-7 win over Hagerstown. The Miami native's spectacular night raised his average to .600 (9-for-16) and helped the Grasshoppers improve to 3-0.

April 8 -- Columbus' Alberto Bastardo was outstanding in his first start of the season as the Catfish beat Greenville, 2-1. The 22-year-old left-hander, who was promoted to the Class A Advanced Vero Beach in mid-May, gave up a run on four hits while striking out 10 over five innings. He went on to record two double-digit strikeout games in the Florida State League: May 19 against Clearwater and July 15 vs. Brevard County.

April 9 -- Savannah's Ofilio Castro became the first Minor Leaguer to hit for the cycle in 2006 as the Sand Gnats eked out a wild 13-12 win over the Asheville Tourists. The 22-year-old third baseman doubled and scored in the first inning, singled and scored in the third, stroked a two-run triple and scored in the fourth, homered to lead off the sixth and delivered an RBI double in the seventh. A native of Nicaragua, Castro had collected just one hit over his first eight at-bats of the season.

April 9 -- Fresh off a 2005 campaign in which he was named the Pioneer League's Most Valuable Player, West Virginia's Angel Salome collected five hits and fell a triple short of the cycle. The 19-year-old catcher's offensive prowess wasn't enough, however, as the Delmarva Shorebirds rallied for five runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Power, 8-7.

April 9 -- The Charleston RiverDogs erupted for nine runs in the fifth inning and routed the Augusta GreenJackets, 13-4, in the opener of a doubleheader. The big inning featured five hits, four walks, two stolen bases, a hit batsman, a sacrifice fly and an error. Joseph Muich's two-run homer was the lone extra-base hit in the frame. Charleston was equally impressive in the nightcap as Phil Coke and Abel Gomez combined on a one-hitter to lead the RiverDogs to a 8-0 victory.

April 12 -- Kenneth Holmberg connected for two home runs, including a two-run shot in the 12th inning, as West Virginia defeated Greensboro, 5-3. The dingers were the first of the year for the 23-year-old second baseman, who totaled seven roundtrippers over 221 at-bats on the season.

April 14 -- After two appearances out of the bullpen, Daniel Barone made his first start of the season and tossed six perfect innings as Greensboro blanked Hickory, 6-0. Steven Lerud broke up the perfect game in the eighth with a two-out double off Jarrett Santos.

April 15 -- It was "Guaranteed Win Day" at Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park and the BlueClaws obliged by beating Delmarva, 8-7, in 13 innings to snap a season-opening nine-game losing streak. Lakewood recovered from this early string of defeats and won the South Atlantic League title for the first time in the team's six-year history.

April 15 -- Cole Garner hit a grand slam and drove in six runs to power Asheville to a 9-5 victory over Savannah. The 21-year-old switch-hitter's blast came in the second inning against Carlos Martinez, who had loaded the bases on a single, a hit batsman and a walk. Garner struck again in the eighth with a two-run triple that extended the Tourists' lead to 9-4.

April 18 -- Kyle Kendrick overpowered Greensboro, striking out 12 over eight innings to lead Lakewood to a 7-0 victory. The 20-year-old right-hander whiffed the first six batters he faced and did not allow a baserunner until the fifth inning.

April 20 -- Hickory rolled to a 13-3 win over Delmarva on the strength of a nine-run third inning. Eddie Prasch and John Santiago reached base twice in the frame, which featured five hits, four walks and an error. Eight of the Crawdads' runs in the inning came with two outs.

April 21 -- Eric Brown hurled the league's first complete-game shutout of the season, scattering four hits and two walks to lead Hagerstown to a 1-0 victory over West Virginia. The 22-year-old right-hander struck out six and picked up his second win of the year.

April 22 -- Marlon Arias struck out 10 and picked up the victory as Columbus held on for a wild 11-10 win over Asheville. The 21-year-old left-hander allowed three runs -- one earned -- on four hits over six innings and improved his record to 3-0. Arias also fanned 10 batters on May 7 against Kannapolis and June 3 vs. Charleston.

April 23 -- Sergio Pedroza knocked in six runs to lead visiting Columbus to a 14-10 win over Asheville. The 22-year-old right fielder laced a two-run double in the first inning and belted a grand slam in the seventh. Pedroza slugged 21 homers and drove in 75 runs for the Catfish before receiving a promotion to Class A Advanced Vero Beach in mid-July.

April 24 -- Jeff Van Houten blasted two homers for the second straight game as Greensboro defeated Hickory, 11-6. The second-year pro from the University of Arizona connected for two-run blasts in the first and eighth innings to highlight a 4-for-5 performance. Van Houten's home run barrage raised his season total to seven and tied him with teammate Gaby Sanchez for the league lead.

April 24 -- Just one start removed from his 12-strikeout gem, Lakewood's Kyle Kendrick scattered three hits and a walk over eight innings to lead the BlueClaws to a 3-0 victory over Delmarva. The Houston native fanned nine and lowered his ERA to 1.65.

April 24 -- Fernando Pacheco went 3-for-4 with five RBIs as Lake County defeated Hagerstown, 6-3. The 21-year-old first baseman laced a two-run double in the fourth inning, an RBI single in the sixth and a two-run single in the eighth. The five-RBI game was the first of two on the season for Pacheco, who also accomplished the feat on June 8 against Lexington.

April 25 -- Nicholas Evans' grand slam highlighted a five-run ninth inning as Hagerstown rallied past Lake County, 7-6. The 20-year-old first baseman's one-out blast came off Matt Davis and tied the score, 6-6. Levi Ventura followed with a single, advanced on Hector Pellot's walk and scored the winning run on a throwing error by catcher Omar Casillas.

April 25 -- Starter Matthew Maloney turned in a dominant performance in Lakewood's 13-inning win over Delmarva. The 22-year-old left-hander allowed two runs -- one earned -- on five hits while striking out 10 over six innings. Maloney, who went on to strike out 180 batters over 168 2/3 innings for the BlueClaws, also fanned 10 batters on May 6 against Hagerstown and Aug. 22 vs. Delmarva.

April 26 -- John Urick's bases-loaded walk in the 22nd inning gave Lakewood a hard-earned 8-7 win over Hagerstown. The teams had traded zeros for the previous 14 frames. Michael Zagurski tossed a scoreless inning for the win, but the BlueClaws' true pitching star was Patrick Overholt, who entered in the 15th and allowed just one hit over seven shutout frames.
Audio: The game-winning walk

April 28 -- Columbus' Brett Leach recorded 14 of a team-record 23 strikeouts, but it wasn't enough as the Catfish lost to the Tourists, 6-5, in 13 innings. Leach hurled just five innings, striking out four in the first, three in the second, two in the third and fourth and three in the fifth. David Pfeiffer, Francisco Felix and Miguel Sanfler each whiffed three batters in relief.

April 29 -- Rome swiped seven bases en route to a 5-3 win over Augusta. Six of the Braves' steals came against GreenJackets starter Daniel Griffin, who allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings. Leadoff hitter Ovandy Suero led the way with three swipes, while Elvis Andrus and Quentin Davis picked up two apiece.

April 30 -- Hickory's Steven Pearce smashed two homers and drove in five runs to lead the Crawdads to a 10-3 victory over Lexington. The 23-year-old first baseman smashed a solo shot in the second inning and a three-run blast in the third before contributing an RBI groundout in the ninth. The five-RBI game was the first of two on the season for Pearce, who also accomplished the feat on May 8 against West Virginia.