Flashback: August in the South Atlantic League
With the 2005 season in the books, MiLB.com takes a month-by-month look back at the biggest stories of the year in each league.
Aug. 1 -- Brian Horwitz went 5-for-6 with two doubles in the Augusta GreenJackets' 11-6 victory over the Charleston RiverDogs. The performance came in the midst of a torrid stretch for Horwitz, who went 14-for-23 with six RBIs to take his second Offensive Player of the Week award.
Aug. 4 -- Lexington was shut out by the Kannapolis Intimidators, 6-0, but the bigger news occurred before the game when the Legends welcomed the 2 millionth fan to Applebee's Park. The historic fan was Brian Bradley of Richmond, Ky., who received a pass that will allow him to attend 2 million Legends' games. The Legends became the second SAL team to surpass 2 million fans, joining the Lakewood BlueClaws.
Aug. 6 -- Brian Bixler went 4-for-5 with two homers as the Hickory Crawdads trounced the Delmarva Shorebirds, 9-2. He had one home run in his previous 33 games but recorded his first career two-homer game with a two-run blast in the opening frame and a solo shot in the sixth. The win was Hickory's fourth straight.
Aug. 8 -- Lexington's James Barthmaier was named Pitcher of the Week after two dominant starts. The right-hander improved to 9-5 after allowing one run and striking out 16 over 10 innings. He also won the award in early June.
Aug. 10 -- Asheville's Jose Valdez homered twice for the second straight game as the Tourists defeated Delmarva, 11-3. He crushed solo shots in the second and fourth innings after connecting twice in the second game of an Aug. 9 doubleheader against Lakewood. The second baseman went on to win Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Aug. 13 -- Matt Harrison tossed a four-hitter over eight innings as the Rome Braves coasted past the Greenville Bombers, 8-0. He picked up his league-leading 11th win, then captured the Pitcher of the Week award.
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Aug. 19 -- Brad McCann went 4-for-5 with a grand slam and eight RBIs as the Greensboro Grasshoppers posted their most lopsided win of the season, 18-1, over the Lake County Captains. McCann delivered a two-run single in the opening frame, a grand slam in the fourth and an RBI single in the fifth.
Aug. 22 -- Lexington's Edwin Maysonet landed the Offensive Player of the Week award by hitting .577 with three homers, seven RBIs in seven games. The shortstop had at least one RBI in each of his last four contests.
Aug. 22 -- Lexington's Chad Reineke was named Pitcher of the Week. The right-hander had a no-decision, despite turning in the best outing of his career on Aug. 15 against Greensboro. He allowed two hits and two walks with a career-high 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings, following that with a solid five-inning victory over Hickory.
Aug. 22 -- Augusta's Jonathan Sanchez struck out a career-high 12 in five innings as the GreenJackets topped the RiverDogs, 5-2. The performance helped him snag the Pitcher of the Week award.
Aug. 24 -- On his 23rd birthday, Reid Santos allowed one hit and tied a Lake County single-game record with 11 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings as the Captains edged the West Virginia Power, 1-0. The only hit was a bloop single in the fifth by Brendan Katin.
Aug. 25 -- Beau Torbert homered for the third consecutive game in the Legends' 7-1 victory over the Power. He cracked a three-run shot in the third inning. The streak started on Aug. 23 with another three-run blast and continued one night later with a solo jack. Torbert was named Offensive Player of the Week.