Flashback: July in the South Atlantic League
July 2 -- Luis Ramirez fired his first career complete game, blanking the West Virginia Power on five singles and a walk in the Delmarva Shorebirds' 6-0 victory. Ramirez was rewarded with Pitcher of the Week honors.
July 3 -- Lake County teammates Chris Gimenez and Mike Butia each homered twice and drove in five runs in the Captains' 14-4 drubbing of the Lexington Legends. Gimenez hit a solo shot in the second inning and a grand slam in the seventh. Butia crushed a three-run homer in the third and a two-run shot in the fifth.
July 4 -- Greenville's Andrew Pinckney singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 20 games in the Bombers' 4-3 loss to the Rome Braves. He raised his average 50 points to .334 during the streak, which earned him the Offensive Player of the Week award.
July 7 -- Delmarva's Luis Ramirez tossed a one-hitter over eight innings as the Shorebirds won their ninth straight game, 1-0, over Lake County. He gave up just a first-inning single to Matthew Whitney.
July 8 -- Jonathan Armitage drove in four runs, and Alex Requena and Carlos Sosa had three RBIs apiece in the Augusta GreenJackets' 16-0 rout of the Charleston RiverDogs. Augusta raced to an 11-0 lead after two innings.
July 8 -- The Lexington Legends rallied from an early eight-run deficit to defeat the Lakewood BlueClaws, 10-9, in 13 innings. Lakewood led 8-0 after the second, but homers by Drew Sutton and Francisco Caraballo fueled Lexington's comeback.
July 9 -- Collin Balester allowed one hit and struck out eight over eight innings in the Savannah Sand Gnats' 3-0 victory over the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Balester retired 22 straight batters after allowing a first-inning single.
July 11 -- Asheville's Matthew Miller won the Offensive Player of the Week award after hitting .393 with five homers and 14 RBIs. His biggest night came on July 9, when he went 3-for-5 with two homers, four RBIs and three runs scored against the Columbus Catfish.
July 11 -- Charleston's Jeffrey Marquez allowed two runs over 14 innings from July 4-10 to garner Pitcher of the Week honors. He fanned a career-high eight over seven innings against Greensboro on July 5, then went the distance in a 3-1, seven-inning win over Augusta on July 10.
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July 15 -- Chris Nelson hit for the cycle in the Asheville Tourists' 7-5 victory over the Sand Gnats. He completed the feat in order by singling in the first inning, doubling in the third, tripling in the fifth and crushing a solo homer in the seventh.
July 18 -- Kannapolis Intimidators reliever Michael Moat won the Pitcher of the Week award after allowing two runs on six hits while striking out 11 over 6 2/3 innings.
July 19 -- In Delmarva's 4-1 victory over Lake County, the Shorebirds' Luis Ramirez had his 24-inning scoreless streak snapped on Fernando Pacheco's second-inning RBI single. Ramirez gave up one run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
July 21 -- Derek Griffith tossed his first career complete game in the Lakewood BlueClaws' 13-0 rout of West Virginia. He faced the minimum through seven innings and ended up allowing three hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Griffith was named Pitcher of the Week.
July 21 -- Brandon Jones and Van Pope combined for four homers and seven RBIs in the Rome Braves' 15-9 victory over the Tourists. Jones went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the first inning and a solo shot in the ninth. Pope was 4-for-6 with two homers and four RBIs.
July 23 -- In the midst of a four-run second inning against Lakewood, West Virginia starter Mark Rogers was replaced by left fielder Josh Brady, who faced two batters. Rogers returned to the mound in the third, but the Power lost, 7-3.
July 25 -- Asheville's Joe Koshansky compiled six straight two-hit games and slugged five homers from July 18-24 to take Offensive Player of the Week honors. He capped the week by homering twice and driving in five runs against Rome.
July 26 -- Delmarva's Jason Fransz smacked three homers and knocked in seven runs, sealing the Shorebirds' 8-7 win over Hagerstown with a walk-off blast in the 11th inning.
July 29 --Lakewood's Maximo De La Cruz tossed his Minor League-leading fifth complete game as the BlueClaws topped the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 5-1. The right-hander took a shutout into the ninth inning, but Jai Miller's solo homer spoiled it.
July 30 -- Cody Bunkelman tossed seven hitless innings in the Captains' 3-1 loss to Delmarva. After he exited, the Shorebirds scored three times off the Lake County bullpen.