Flashback: Chicago White Sox

April 6 -- Birmingham's Gio Gonzalez dazzled in the first of many dominant 2007 starts. Gonzalez fanned nine and walked one over five hitless innings to lead the Barons to a 4-2 victory over visiting Carolina.

April 7 -- Jack Egbert set a career high with 12 strikeouts in six innings as the host Birmingham Barons blanked the Carolina Mudcats, 10-0. The 23-year-old right-hander struck out the side in the first and fanned two in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. He was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week on April 16.

April 9 -- Kris Honel and two relievers combined on a two-hitter as Birmingham shut out Carolina for the second time in three days, 5-0. Honel gave up both hits and struck out four without a walk in six frames. Fernando Hernandez fanned two over two innings, and Carlos Vazquez fanned one in a perfect ninth.

April 10 -- Micah Schnurstein went 4-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs and four runs scored as Winston-Salem crushed Myrtle Beach, 12-3. The 22-year-old first baseman singled and scored in the second inning. In the third, Schnurstein smashed a deep fly ball off the wall in left-center field and raced around the bases for a three-run inside-the-parker. He stroked an RBI double and scored in the seventh and singled and scored in the eighth to cap his big night.

April 23 -- Javier Castillo was named Carolina League Offensive Player of the Week after he hit .435 with a home run and six RBIs for the Winston-Salem Warthogs, including a four-hit game on April 17.

April 24 -- Josh Fields clubbed a two-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning to lift Charlotte over Toledo, 4-2. The 24-year-old Fields, who was called up by the White Sox in early June, also ripped an RBI double in the sixth.
Audio: Fields' blast wins it

April 25 -- For the second day in a row, the Knights came up with a walk-off two-run homer to beat Toledo. Wiki Gonzalez played hero in the 10th inning for a 6-4 victory. It was his first hit of the night.
Audio: Gonzalez goes yard

April 27 -- Just five days after striking out 12 in a 2-1 loss to Mississippi, Birmingham's Gio Gonzalez set a career high with 13 strikeouts in seven innings as the Barons defeated visiting Huntsville, 6-3. The 21-year-old left-hander surrendered two runs on five hits and a walk in his eighth career double-digit strikeout performance.

May 11 -- Winston-Salem's Daron Roberts went 4-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs to lead the Warthogs to a 12-3 rout of the Lynchburg Hillcats. The 24-year-old Roberts improved to 12-for-16 in his last three games, raising his batting average 102 points to .329.

May 16 -- Josh Fields smacked a two-run homer and Jim Thome knocked in three runs as Charlotte topped Columbus, 7-5. The Knights trailed before Fields went deep with two outs in the fourth inning. In the fifth, the rehabbing Thome doubled home three runs and Jerry Owens delivered an RBI single.
Audio: Fields' two-run dinger

May 19 -- In one of his final games for Charlotte before a promotion to the White Sox, Josh Fields cranked a grand slam and drove in five runs to lead the Knights to an 8-2 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens.

May 22 -- Michael Myers launched a grand slam, scored three times and set a career high with five RBIs to lift the Birmingham Barons to a 12-4 triumph over the Carolina Mudcats.

May 25 -- Ryan Sweeney went 5-for-5 with three RBIs as Charlotte rallied past visiting Ottawa, 12-8. The 22-year-old center fielder slugged a two-run homer in the first inning and lined an RBI base hit in the seventh to knot the score, 8-8. He also singled in the third, fifth and eighth.

May 28 -- Charlotte's Josh Fields was named International League Offensive Player of the Week after batting .455 with a pair of homers, seven RBIs and eight runs scored.

May 30 -- Joseph Torres struck out a season-high nine over four perfect relief innings as Winston-Salem held off Myrtle Beach, 4-2. After a strikeout and groundout, the 24-year-old lefty fanned six in a row and two of three in the ninth to pick up his second save.
Audio: Torres' ninth K

June 10 -- A day after clubbing a walk-off homer, Birmingham's Victor Mercedes hit for the cycle as the Barons crushed Mississippi, 12-3. After flying out in the first inning, the 28-year-old second baseman ripped an RBI single in the third, doubled in the fifth, and led off the sixth with his third home run of the year. Mercedes stroked his first triple in the seventh to become only the second player in franchise history to hit for the cycle. Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson accomplished the feat in 1967.

June 11 -- Charlotte starter Gavin Floyd went 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA and 14 strikeouts in two starts and was named International League Pitcher of the Week.

June 15 -- Logan Johnson, Chicago's 2007 20th-round draft pick, had two homers and three RBIs in Louisville's 15-10 loss to Rice in the College World Series. It was third multi-homer game of the season for Johnson, who batted .363 with 62 RBIs.

June 16 -- Chris Carter went 4-for-5 with two home runs, four RBIs and a career-best five runs scored as Kannapolis pounded out 22 hits en route to 19-4 thrashing of visiting Greensboro. The 20-year-old first baseman smashed a pair of two-run homers in the first and third innings, singled and scored in the fourth and fifth, and walked and scored in the seventh.

June 22 -- Kyle McCulloch struck out a season-high nine over eight two-hit innings as the Winston-Salem Warthogs blanked Potomac Nationals, 1-0. McCulloch retired the first 14 batters and the last eight in a row.

June 24 -- Looking for his first win in six starts, Adam Russell fanned seven over six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and five walks as Birmingham stopped Jacksonville's 12-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory.

June 29 -- Fautino De Los Santos struck out a career-high 14 over eight innings as Kannapolis edged visiting Greensboro, 5-4. De Los Santos yielded two runs -- both in the seventh inning -- on three hits without a walk. He struck out the side in the third and fourth and fanned five of the last seven batters he faced.

July 1 -- Jose Zazueta hurled a two-hitter to stop a personal eight-game losing streak as Kannapolis dropped visiting Greensboro, 5-1, to earn a doubleheader split. Zazueta, who was winless since April 12, set a career high with 10 strikeouts and allowed an unearned run over seven innings.

July 1 -- Jerry Owens homered and drove in five runs as Charlotte cruised to a 14-2 rout of host Pawtucket. Owens cracked a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, smashed a three-run jack to cap a seven-run seventh, and walked with the bases loaded in the eighth.

July 3 -- Jose Martinez smacked a grand slam in the second inning, delivered an RBI single in the ninth, and scored three times as the Bristol Sox crushed Greeneville, 15-6.

July 5 -- Brian Anderson cranked two homers and collected a season-best six RBIs to lead Charlotte to an 11-6 triumph over visiting Columbus. The 25-year-old outfielder launched a grand slam in the fourth inning and added a two-run shot in the seventh.
Audio: Anderson's two-run jack

July 9 -- Javier Castillo was named Carolina League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time after he hit .364 with two homers and nine RBIs for the Winston-Salem Warthogs.

July 13 -- Jack Egbert set a career high with 13 strikeouts over seven shutout innings as Birmingham blanked host Jacksonville, 5-0. The 24-year-old right-hander, who yielded only two hits, struck out the side in the second and fanned six of the final nine batters he faced. Egbert was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week three days later.

July 13 -- Fautino De Los Santos fanned 10 over seven one-hit innings as the Kannapolis Intimidators edged the Greenville Drive, 1-0. The 21-year-old right-hander gave up a second-inning double and hit a batter in the fourth before retiring the last 11 hitters he faced.

July 19 -- Ryan Sweeney clubbed two of Charlotte's season-best five homers as the Knights powered past the Buffalo Bisons, 15-6. The 22-year-old right fielder belted a three-run jack in the first inning and slugged a leadoff roundtripper in the sixth.

July 20 -- Jim Gallagher went 4-for-7 and five players had at least three hits as the Great Falls White Sox matched a Pioneer League-best with 25 hits and crushed the Ogden Raptors, 17-3. Gallagher launched a three-run homer, C.J. Retherford smashed a two-run dinger and drove in four runs, and Lyndon Estill had four RBIs.

July 29 -- Andy Mead homered and drove in five runs during his first career five-hit game as Great Falls routed Helena, 19-9. Mead, who was 5-for-6, slugged a solo shot in the first inning and hit an RBI groundout in the third. He stroked a two-run double in the fifth, an RBI single in the seventh and capped his night with a ninth-inning base hit.

Aug. 1 -- Winston-Salem's Kyle McCulloch won his third Carolina League Pitcher of the Week award after throwing six hitless innings against Salem. He walked one and hit two batsmen in an eventual 6-4 loss. The 22-year-old right-hander also notched Pitcher of the Week honors June 11 and 25.

Aug. 13 -- In his first week with the Birmingham Barons, David Cook was named Southern League Offensive Player of the Week after he hit .500 with six home runs, 13 RBIs and eight runs scored. The 26-year-old outfielder was promoted on Aug. 3 and also won the Offensive Player of the Week award on April 16 with Class A Advanced Winston-Salem.

Aug. 17 -- Victor Mercedes clubbed a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Birmingham Barons a dramatic 10-6 victory over the Mobile BayBears. Birmingham trailed, 6-5, but loaded the bases in the ninth before Cory Aldridge walked to force in the tying run. Mercedes, hitting .339 during a 15-game hitting streak, followed with his fifth homer of the season.

Aug. 17 -- Derek Rodriguez hurled a two-hitter for the first nine-inning complete game of his career as Winston-Salem blanked Salem, 2-0. Rodriguez, a 14th-round pick in the 2005 Draft, gave up a pair of singles while walking two and fanning seven. He recorded 14 ground-ball outs and improved to 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA in four starts against the Avalanche.

Aug. 18 -- Mike Grace and John Shelby plated five runs apiece as Kannapolis pounded host Savannah, 14-3. Grace, who went 4-for-5, slugged two-run dingers in the sixth and seventh innings and added an RBI single in the ninth. John Shelby hit a go-ahead grand slam during a 10-run sixth and added an RBI double later in the frame, and Archie Gilbert slugged a solo roundtripper in the seventh.

Aug. 20 -- Kannapolis' John Shelby was named South Atlantic League Offensive Player of the Week after batting .483 with two homers and 11 RBIs. Great Falls' Salvador Sanchez nabbed the same honor in the Pioneer League after he hit .484 with seven RBIs and scored six times.

Aug. 31 -- Robbie Hudson played all nine positions for the Winston-Salem Warthogs, who fell to visiting Kinston, 12-4. Celebrating his 24th birthday, Hudson started the game behind the plate before moving to first base, second and third before settling at his natural position, shortstop, in the fifth. He spent the next three frames in the outfield before tossing a scoreless ninth.

Sept. 4 -- Birmingham's Carlos Torres was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week after going 1-0 with 14 strikeouts in four appearances covering 7 2/3 scoreless innings. Great Falls starter Aaron Poreda went 2-0 with 0.90 ERA and fanned 13 to take home Pioneer League kudos.

Sept. 9 -- C.J. Retherford and Jim Gallagher slugged first-inning homers as the Great Falls White Sox dropped the Helena Brewers, 5-1, to even their best-of-three Pioneer League North Division series.

Sept. 10 -- Great Falls advanced to the Pioneer League Championship Series after topping Helena, 10-3. Andrew Mead and Christian Marrero launched solo homers and Dale Mollenhauer went 3-for-6 with a double and two RBIs. Orem swept its way to the crown.