Flashback: August in the Appalachian 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 -- The Bluefield Orioles trounced the Kingsport Mets, 20-9. Bluefield erased an early seven-run deficit by scoring 17 consecutive runs by the fifth inning. Stuart Musslewhite clubbed a grand slam, while Kieron Pope and Leonel Yeme each collected four hits and scored three times.
Aug. 1 -- Kris Welker's RBI double in the 13th inning helped the Bristol Sox edge the Danville Braves, 10-9. The Braves rallied from a seven-run deficit to tie the score, but Bristol's Christian Acosta was too much. Acosta went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs en route to winning the Offensive Player of the Week award.
Aug. 6 -- Johnson City's Ryan Campbell struck out all six batters he faced in the Cardinals' 8-1 victory over the Orioles. The impressive performance helped him earn Pitcher of the Week honors as he fanned 12 in just 4 1/3 innings.
Aug. 9 -- The Braves won their seventh straight game, edging the Elizabethton Twins, 6-5. Danville rallied for two runs in the ninth inning on a bases-loaded walk to Carlos Picornell and Ovandy Suero's RBI single.
Aug. 14 -- Greeneville's Sergio Severino garnered his second straight impressive win as the Astros cruised past the Sox, 7-2. The left-hander allowed one run on one hit while striking out a season-high nine in five innings. Five days earlier, he gave up one run on four hits over five frames in an 8-7 triumph over Burlington. He was rewarded with the Pitcher of the Week award.
Audio: Severino picks up his second of nine Ks
Aug. 15 -- Paul Franko was named Offensive Player of the Week after batting .500 with two homers, seven RBIs and six runs scored. The Pulaski first baseman stroked two-run homers in each of the Blue Jays' first two games of the week.
Aug. 17 -- Adam Hawes pitched the third complete-game shutout in the Appalachian League, allowing just three singles as the Twins blanked Bristol, 7-0. The right-hander struck out a career-high nine without issuing a walk. He went on to win the Pitcher of the Week award.
Aug. 17 -- Brandon Erbe struck out seven in a row as the Orioles completed a doubleheader sweep of the Indians with a 1-0 win. The right-hander didn't allow a hit until there were two outs in the fourth and totaled nine strikeouts in four frames.
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Aug. 21 -- Kyle Schmidt recorded his second straight double-digit strikeout game as the Orioles bounced the Blue Jays, 5-4. He fanned a season-high 11 over 6 2/3 innings to pick up his fifth win. Five days earlier, the right-hander struck out 10 against Burlington. For the month, Schmidt was 4-1 with a 2.78 ERA in 44 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings.
Aug. 22 -- Danville's Ovandy Suero went 2-for-6 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games in the Braves' 13-9 victory over the Kingsport Mets. Six Danville players recorded at least two hits, with Manuel Rodriguez getting four. The hitting streak earned Suero Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Aug. 23 -- The Appalachian League All-Star team was announced. Fittingly, the two best teams, the Braves and Twins, were well-represented. Danville's Max Ramirez and Eric Campbell shared the Player of the Year award, while teammate Jairo Cuevas was named Pitcher of the Year. Left-hander Alexander Smit and manager Ray Smith were selected from Elizabethton.
Aug. 24 -- The Orioles stole 10 bases, including five in the opening frame, in an 11-9 loss to the Astros. Jonathan Tucker and Rene Aqueron stole three bases apiece, while Brandon Snyder and Paul Winterling recorded two apiece.
Aug. 25 -- Jason Schutt and two relievers combined on a two-hitter as the Indians blanked Greeneville, 11-0. Schutt retired 15 of 16 hitters after giving up a single and a walk in the opening frame. Jeff Pry tossed two perfect innings and Wilander Cruz yielding just an eighth-inning single in his two frames.
Audio: Shutt rolling against Greeneville
Aug. 26 -- Yohan Pino tossed his first complete game and struck out a season-high 11 as the Twins eked out a 2-1 victory over the Orioles. The right-hander allowed one run on four hits to win his league-high ninth game, then claimed the Pitcher of the Week award.
Aug. 29 -- Eli Iorg hit two homers and drove in a career-high seven runs as Greeneville doubled up Pulaski, 10-5. Houston's 2005 supplemental first-round draft pick clubbed three-run homers in the fifth and eighth innings around an RBI triple in the seventh.
Aug. 29 -- Pulaski's Jesus Gonzalez won the Offensive Player of the Week award by recording five consecutive multi-hit games. In seven contests, he went 14-for-31 with three homers and 12 RBIs.