Flashback: July in the South Atlantic League
July 1 -- Cole Garner had a six-RBI game on April 15, but he outdid that performance by going 5-for-6 with two homers, seven RBIs and four runs scored in Asheville's 21-9 trouncing of Hickory. Even more impressive is that it took Garner just four innings to do it. He crushed a two-run homer in the second, belted a two-run double in the third and added a three-run blast in the fourth.
July 7 -- Benj Copeland was one of the hottest players in the South Atlantic League in early July. Over 12 games, he went 25-for-50 with a homer, 12 RBIs and 14 runs scored. He capped the stretch by notching three hits and five RBIs in Augusta's 13-7 victory over Hickory. He sandwiched a seven-run first inning with a leadoff homer and a three-run double, then smacked an RBI single in the third.
July 7 -- Brad James lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning in Lexington's 4-1 victory over Kannapolis, but at least he knows it wasn't on a cheapie. He served up a leadoff homer to Aaron Cunningham and left with one out in the ninth. German Melendez recorded the last two outs to complete the one-hitter.
July 10 -- Augusta put together an 11-game winning streak from June 30-July 10, getting more than a few starring performances. David Maroul and Ronnie Ray grabbed a couple of highlights and snagged the weekly awards. Maroul was named Offensive Player of the Week after homering in three straight games and knocking in 10 runs. He clubbed a grand slam in a 7-6 victory over Hickory on July 6. Ray fanned 11 over 13 scoreless frames, highlighted by seven strong innings in a 2-0 blanking of Lexington.
July 13 -- Quentin Davis was all over the bases in Rome's 3-1 victory over Charleston, registering four steals. He swiped third base in the first and sixth innings, then snagged second and third in the eighth. Davis finished with 41 steals for the Braves.
July 13 -- Asheville manager Joe Mikulik had an epic tirade on June 25 that made the national highlights. But it turned out to be a good thing, besides the seven-game suspension, of course. His $5,000 fine was donated to charity and the Tourists auctioned off the base he threw, with the proceeds split between a Lexington charity and the Asheville Tourists Childrens Fund.
Video: Asheville manager Joe Mikulik loses it
July 16 -- Thomas Cowley was nearly untouchable in Lake County's 4-0 blanking of Hagerstown. The southpaw gave up just a fourth-inning single over seven dominant frames. Jose Castro managed the only hit with a single but was caught stealing. After Nick Evans walked later in the frame, Cowley and Matthew Loberg combined to retire the last 16 batters.
July 17 -- Lake County's Chris Gimenez saw his batting average rise 32 points to .274 with a 14-game hitting streak from July 12-28. He started the streak by going 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, which also helped him snag Offensive Player of the Week honors.
July 17 -- West Virginia's Will Inman gave up just two runs over 25 innings in July. Not surprisingly, that stretch helped him grab the Pitcher of the Week award for July 10-16. The right-hander worked five scoreless frames in two starts.
July 17 -- Mitch Einertson ended a marathon in style, crushing a walk-off grand slam in the 16th inning to propel Lexington to a 5-1 victory over West Virginia. Einertson picked the right time to collect his first hit, launching one over the left-field fence to end a game that had been tied since the seventh.
July 19 -- Brad Lincoln, the fourth overall pick in June's First-Year Player Draft, had a rough start in his Class A debut for Hickory, yielding seven runs in 4 2/3 innings in a 9-6 loss to Lakewood. But the right-hander rebounded by capturing his first victory on July 25, yielding two runs over five frames as the Crawdads edged Columbus, 6-5.
July 19 -- After getting racked for seven runs in six innings on July 14, Jonathan Niese came back with a masterpiece as he tossed a complete-game three-hitter in Hagerstown's 9-0 romp over Lexington. Niese surrendered two singles, a double and two walks while striking out nine. On July 24, he was rewarded with the Pitcher of the Week award.
July 21 -- Eddie Prasch picked a good time to hit his first career homer and an even better time to hit his first two when he went 4-for-4 with two blasts, four RBIs and four runs scored in Hickory's 9-4 triumph over Lakewood. Prasch slugged a solo shot and a three-run blast, adding a double and a single.
July 24 -- Before a trade to the Cleveland organization, Max Ramirez went 3-for-3 with an RBI double for Rome. He was a welcome addition in Lake County, where he went 4-for-6 with a homer, double, three RBIs and four walks in three games. That performance helped secure the Offensive Player of the Week award.
July 24-25 -- Jesus Gamero finished with 17 RBIs for Hagerstown, but he combined to drive in nine runs in back-to-back games against Kannapolis. He went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs as Hagerstown coasted to a 13-1 victory, then followed with a five-RBI performance in the Suns' 8-5 win.
July 28 -- Lakewood's Matt Maloney set a team record with his 13th win as the BlueClaws edged Greenville, 2-1. The left-hander went 5-1 with a 1.79 ERA in July and closed the month by yielding one run on five hits in six innings against the Drive. Maloney shattered the club record by finishing 16-9.
July 31 -- Vito Chiaravalloti was a boon after joining Delmarva on July 13 and was red-hot from July 24-30 to win the Offensive Player of the Week award. The 25-year-old hit safely in seven games with three homers, three doubles, eight RBIs and eight runs scored.
July 31 -- Deolis Guerra may have been only 17 years old when he won the Pitcher of the Week award for July 24-30, but he schooled Sally League foes in two dominant outings. He won both starts, allowing one run on five hits over six innings in a 13-1 drubbing of Kannapolis on July 24, then tossing 5 2/3 scoreless frames in beating Lakewood, 7-1, on July 29.
Eric Justic is a contributor to MLB.com.
Video: Prasch cranks two homers
Video: Maloney seals a record-breaking win