The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • C7

hours, 7 minutes to play, tied a Pacific Coast League record for longest game. San Francisco and Oakland played a 24-inning contest on June 8, 1909, as did Portland and Sacramento on Sept. 10, 1911. For the Sounds, the game set franchise records for most innings played and longest time played. Previously, Nashville had lost a 20-inning contest to Omaha in the 1990 American Association playoffs and had lost a 5-hour, 7-minute, 15-inning game to Colorado Springs in its 1998 home opener.

sure everybody was tired, playing 31 innings in less than 24 Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said following the two contests. Nashville set a PCL record for most strikeouts by a team with 29, surpassing previous mark of 20 set on June 20, 1974 against Hawaii. Nashville and New Orleans combined for 48 strikeouts; the previous record was 29, set by Spokane and Hawaii. Sounds first baseman Brad seven strikeouts established a new league mark, also. Salt Dallas McPherson set the previous record with six in an 11-inning game against Las Vegas on July 9, 2004.

Nashville and New Orleans used a total of 17 pitchers; the previous league record was 14, set three times with the Sounds involved in two of the prior games. Hawaii and Salt Lake City originally set the record on April 19, 1964; the Sounds and Colorado Springs matched it on April 11, 1998, and again on June 24, 2003. Both the Sounds and Zephyrs used 20 players, falling two short of the record set by Portland in 1947 and matched by Vancouver in 1958. Nashville led 4-2 through seven innings, aided by Dave leadoff homer in the first and RBI base hits by Corey Hart, Vinny Rottino and Brent Abernathy. However, the Zephyrs who had lost 11 of 12 games entering the series scored in the eighth and ninth to force extra innings.

New Orleans had its leadoff hit- ter reach base six times in extra innings before finally scoring the go-ahead run off Sounds reliever Mike Meyers, who came on when the game resumed in the 19th inning. Nashville catcher Mike Rivera saw his 16-game hitting streak stopped as he went 0-for-7. For the Sounds, the loss was just their third in their last 15 games. Five straight two-out base hits turned the second game for Nashville, which trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. two-run double sparked the rally, with Jermaine Clark, Hart, Nelson Cruz and Abernathy each following with RBI hits.

we get started scoring, a tough team to get Gwynn said. Roster moves: To aid a depleted bullpen, Joe Winkelsas was added to the Nashville active roster Saturday, filling the spot vacated when pitcher Jared Fernandez was called up Friday by Milwaukee. Winkelsas was 1-1 with a 2.13 earned run average and three saves in 10 relief appearances at Class AA Huntsville. The 32-year-old has 55 minor league saves over his 10- year career. It take long for Winkelsas to see action, as he relieved starter Wilton Chavez in the third inning of regularly scheduled game against New Orleans.

Winkelsas, who had thrown in three of the past four days before appearance, worked the final five innings for his first Class AAA win since pitching for Richmond (Braves) in 2002. They call it Tony infield single in the fourth inning gave him hits in seven straight games, following his pinch-hit single in portion of the 24-inning contest. Gwynn is also the only Sounds player to hit safely in every home game. Chris Barnwell and Corey Hart also extended streaks, with base hits in the decisive fifth inning. Barnwell has now hit in nine straight games, Hart in 11.

Home sweet home: With the late win Saturday, Nashville is 11-3 at Greer Stadium. www.tennessean.com THE TENNESSEAN Sunday, May 7, 2006 7C TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 7C COLLEGES By TOM KREAGER StaffWriter MURFREESBORO Mikie Minor still remembers his freshman baseball season at Forrest. Minor was on a team that was one of the best in recent years. But the Rockets lost in the first game of their district tournament. He made sure there be another upset.

Minor pitched a five-inning no-hitter Saturday to advance the top-seeded Rockets into the District 9-A tournament with a 10-0 victory over Eagleville. going to overlook Minor said. knew what can happen if we did Forrest (26-5) plays at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Middle Tennessee Christian School in the district semifinals. Eagleville (10-20) plays at 5 p.m.

Monday in bracket. Minor (9-0) struck out 14 of the 18 batters he faced. He also walked two and hit one batter. James Blackwell was the lone Eagle to put the ball into fair territory when he grounded out in the second inning. Forrest scored nine runs in the bottom of the first inning.

The Rockets had seven hits in the inning and benefited from three Eagleville errors. Clayton Joyce started the scoring with a one-out solo home run. The next four Forrest batters reached base and scored. we got 9-0 I felt pretty relaxed out said Minor, who had five Major League scouts watching him. knew I going to give up nine Minor has 466 strikeouts in his high school career.

He finished the game with only 70 pitches thrown. wanted to get him out Forrest Coach Wayne Hardison said. in good shape now and should be able to pitch next Minor would likely start Wednesday if the Rockets are still in the tournament. With his low pitch total, Minor could possibly pitch in relief if needed. The Rockets added its 10th run in the bottom of the fourth inning on Peyton ninth home run of the season.

District 7-AAA: The top two seeds in the District 7-AAA tournament remained undefeated with second-round wins. Top-seeded Riverdale defeated Oakland 4-1. Coty Woods and Trice Powers each hit home runs for the Warriors (30-7). Chason Choate (10-1) collected the win. Woods picked up his third save.

Ryan Cole tripled in Frankie Beech in the bottom of the seventh to give second-seeded Blackman a 4-3 win over Lebanon. The loss sends the Blue Devils to the bracket. Siegel eliminated White County with an 8-4 victory. Warren County beat Cookeville 6-5 to end the season. District 8-AAA: Regular-season district champion Shelbyville defeated Tullahoma 7-3 in its first game of the tournament.

The Golden Eagles will play Columbia at 1 p.m. Monday. The Lions stayed in the bracket of the tournament with a 5-1 win over Franklin County on Saturday. District 9-AAA: Gallatin left- fielder Caleb McGuire threw out Joey Decker at home for the final out of the game to preserve a 2-1 win for the Green Wave. The loss eliminated the Commandos from the tournament.

Beech defeated La Vergne 5-2 to remain in the bracket. TACS: Senior Michael Edwards (5-0) was the tournament MVP after scattering three hits to lead Metro Christian Academy (15-3) to its fifth consecutive TACS state championship, beating Temple Baptist 11-1 in five innings. Minor throws short no-hitter HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL Tennessean StaffReports Tennessee softball team reached a milestone Saturday, winning 20 games in a season for the first time in the 13-year history. Host TSU (20-35, 5-20 OVC) won 5-0 over Morehead State (1339, 3-23) in the first game of the double-header to reach the mark. Morehead State came back to win the nightcap 2-1.

Tennessee 4-10, LSU0-1: No. 6 Tennessee (50-8, 21-8 SEC) swept No. 11 LSU (48-10, 21-8) Saturday in Knoxville, winning the opener 4-0 before taking the second game 10-1 in five innings. With the doubleheader sweep, UT reached the 50-win plateau for the third consecutive season. Natalie Brock hit a three-run homer in the opener to back junior Monica Abbott (35-6), who went the distance.

Abbott scattered four hits and struck out nine. In the second game, Megan Rhodes (15-2), a sophomore from David Lipscomb, scattered four hits and struck out four to lead UT. 5-10, MTSU 2-0: Melissa Weiland hit her seventh home run in the first game to help No. 15 Louisiana-Lafayette (44-10, 11-4 Sun Belt) sweep host MTSU (19-39-1, 6-8). The second game went just five innings.

BASEBALL Cumberland 7, Lyon 5: Senior Nolan McCue homered to back Luis Magdaleno (6-3) as host Cumberland (41-15) won its third Tran- South Conference tournament title in four years Saturday with a 7-5 victory over Lyon (39-22) in the championship game. Both advance to the Region XI tourney Tuesday at Cumberland. MTSU 18, Fla. Intl. 1: The visiting Blue Raiders (24-17, 9-7 Sun Belt) pounded out 19 hits, including five home runs and three doubles, to move into fourth place in the tight league race with a rout of Florida International (28-20, 7-9).

Todd Martin hit his team-best 13th homer and Michael McKenry got his 12th. Also homering for MTSU were Marcus Taylor, Jeff Beachum and Rawley Bishop. TRACK AND FIELD Williams honored: Buford Williams of Tennessee State was named Male Athlete of the OVC Championships Saturday in Cape Girardeau, after winning the high jump and long jump and finishing sixth in the javelin. Southeast Missouri won both the and team titles. The TSU men were third while the TSU women finished sixth, APSU was seventh and Tech was ninth.

TSU gets record 20th softball win SPRING SPORTS AP Chris Kemp tries to slide under the tag of Vanderbilt pitcher Matt Buschmann but is tagged out. By RYAN CALLAHAN For The Tennessean KNOXVILLE Tennessee and Vanderbilt each left Lindsey Nelson Stadium with a win Saturday. But by the end of the day, both felt as if been dealt a major loss. Playing an unscheduled doubleheader due to a inclement weather forecast for today, the Vols and Commodores split the final two games of the three-game series. Tennessee scored four runs in the eighth inning to come away with a 5-3 win in the opener.

The Commodores rallied with three runs in the final two innings for a 6-4 win in the finale. After entering the weekend 11th in the SEC standings, the Vols (27-20, 9-14 SEC) earned a much- needed series win, their third in four weeks and their first series win over Vanderbilt since 2002. Thanks to a late collapse by freshman starter Josh Lindblom and junior closer Sean Watson (4-3), it was just enough to leave UT with a bitter taste in its mouth. needed to win Tennessee Coach Rod Delmonico said. need to win two and put ourselves in a situation to win three and let that last one get away.

We just gave them the Vanderbilt (28-20, 12-12) feel much better about its performance in a series that opened Friday night with No. 1 pitcher David Price taking a beating for the third time in four weeks. Salvaging the last of the three games on an RBI single by Pedro Alvarez made the third consecutive series loss only a little bit easier to swallow. better than the Vanderbilt Coach Tim Corbin said. we not won this game, I might have walked back to Nashville, and I mean that.

tried to stay very positive with the kids (Friday) night and we tried to stay positive with the guys between games. But tough when you come up a little bit short here and The Commodores came up short in the first game Saturday despite a strong performance from senior pitcher Matt Buschmann (4-4). Eighth-inning errors by Alvarez and catcher Shea Robin allowed UT to score four unearned runs and take a 5-2 lead. UT closer Watson gave up a run and loaded the bases in the ninth before striking out David Macias for his ninth save. was a lot of adversity in those first two games for Corbin said.

got our No. 1 pitcher and they handle him pretty well, and in the second game we lost a tough Then the Vols lost a tough one. Trying to add to a 4-3 lead in the finale, Tennessee loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh but cleanup hitter Chris Kemp grounded into a double play that let the Commodores escape the inning unscathed. Ryan RBI double in the eighth tied it at 4-4, and freshman Kurt Lipton drew a leadoff walk against Watson in the ninth, opening the door for Alvarez to drive in the go-ahead run. were in a position to sweep, and we just do UT catcher J.P.

Arencibia said. close game like that, got to win. We had a lot of opportunities to score, and they just pitched out of Now the Commodores will have to work their way out of another jam. With two weeks left in SEC play, Vanderbilt finds itself entrenched in the middle of the pack after losing seven of its last nine conference games. been nice to come out with the Alvarez said.

take Vandy earns split at UT Commodores rally to take second game VANDY-UT BASEBALL By CHARLES ELMORE Palm Beach Post WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. The last man alive who pitched to Babe Ruth turns 96 in September. From his Florida home, Elden Auker zips a brisk brushback at the idea that the legend might be sagging under the relentless four-bagger pounding of Barry Bonds. only one Babe Auker said. time goes on, just become Barry Bonds spoke three years ago of Ruth, and now stands within reach of becoming the only player aside from Hank Aaron to pass fabled total of 714 home runs.

Yet towering position in American popular culture seems unthreatened, from the vantage point of Michael Gibbons, executive director of the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore. continuing popularity never ceases to amaze said Gibbons, worked since 1982 at the museum in hometown. is an American cultural icon, not a sports icon. There that many of them. there with Elvis and Marilyn Gibbons teaches a writing course at a nearby university, and he asks his students how many have not heard of Babe Ruth, who last played in 1935.

has one student raised a Gibbons said. He also asks how many have heard of former Orioles All-Star third baseman Brooks Robinson. Three or four hands go up. is slipping a little Gibbons said. has Ruth already was the most recognized public figure in America when he vacationed in Palm Beach in February 1930.

It was here that Ruth sent the Yankees a 500-word letter demanding the biggest contract ever for an athlete: $85,000 a year, $10,000 more than President Herbert Hoover made. Ruth shared his letter with reporters, some of whom thought it must be prank. It was not his first visit to Palm Beach. In 1925, he played the Lake Worth Municipal Golf Course. (Golf, fishing and hunting kept me in Ruth told the Yanks, as if writing a travelogue.) Oddly, premier power hitter could hit it straight but not particularly long from the tee.

Auker, who played golf with Ruth in Lakeland, remembers outdriv- ing him by 40 or 50 yards. In his letter from Palm Beach, Ruth told the Yankees he had manfully resisted the lure of easy money in vaudeville and talking pictures, but now he wanted a big raise, or he would walk away from baseball. the Yankees force me into retirement, I will accept one of the many offers which include a variety of entertainment propositions, exhibition games during the summer, and even an offer from a Ruth wrote. Ruth was already running his own circus, Yankees management grumbled, but the team agreed to pay him $80,000 a year, a $10,000 raise. There was a bit of a stir over the fact it was more than the president earned, but that just gave Ruth the occasion to deliver a famous line: had a better But Ruth never had to travel west of the Mississippi River for a game, and he never faced some of the best players of his era.

have had some of the greatest who ever played in the Negro said Gilman Whiting, professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University, he hit as many home runs if he bats against some of the great black pitchers? I know if we move Ruth to this era, he play in the physical shape he did. Athletes overall have gotten to be better physical Ultimately, Jenkinson said, the American public will decide where Ruth stands in history. suspect his legend is going to remain undimmed because of the factual reality of what he accomplished as a ballplayer and a Jenkinson said. At the Babe Ruth Museum, Gibbons suspects that still got you, Babe. like the Gibbons said.

could never be The legacy has not faded Legend ever larger with passage MINOR LEAGUES Nashville, New Orleans split Next: Today vs. New Orleans When: 2 p.m. PCL standings AMERICAN CONFERENCE Northern DivisionWLPct.GB Nashville Omaha Iowa Memphis Southern DivisionWLPct.GB Albuquerque Round Rock New Orleans Oklahoma PACIFIC CONFERENCE Northern DivisionWLPct.GB Salt Lake Tacoma Portland Col. Springs Southern DivisionWLPct.GB Las Vegas Fresno Sacramento Tucson Suspended game Losing pitcher: Mike Meyers (1-1). Big stick: Dennis Sarfate, 2-for-2, double, RBI.

How they lost: Wiki RBI single in the 24th was the first score for either team in 15 innings, after the visiting Zephyrs tied the game with a run in the ninth. The Sounds went scoreless for the final 17 innings after taking a 4-2 lead in the seventh. NEW ORLEANS 5, NASHVILLE 4 (24) SUSPENDED GAME N. OrleansabrhbiNashvilleabrhbi Watson, cf9130Krynzel, cf10221 Bray, p1000Clrk, 2b10110 Ramirez, p1000Abrnthy, lf9021 Mateo, 2b9230Hart, rf8021 Harris, 3b9131Rivera, c7000 Brdway, 1b8031Nelson, 1b10010 Vento, Godwin, lf5001E. Cruz, 3b3000 Bowie, p1000Chavez, p0000 Shrdr, p-rf1100Simpson, p0000 Labndra, ss11020Gwynn, ph1010 Castillo, c3000Kershner, p0000 Gnzlz, ph-c7021N.

Cruz, ph0000 Good, p2000Adams, p0000 Gryboski, p0000Johnson, ph1000 Kelly, ph1000Stetter, p1000 Hughes, p0000Evert, p0000 Larson, ph1000Myrs, p-lf3000 Rivera, p1000Sarfate, p2021 Thissen, lf5000Rottino, 3b5000 Totals855225Totals814134 N. 5221 24 innings total played Labandeira (3), Barnwell (3). Nashville 22, New Orleans 22. 2, New Orleans 3. (2), Sarfate (1).

(2). Abernathy (3), Nelson (3), Hart 2 (7), Mateo (1), Harris (2). (1), Barnwell (2), Harris (1), Watson (1), Labandeira (3). New Orleansiphrerbbso Good6.184415 Gryboski1.210001 Hughes2.020012 Rivera3.010042 Bowie3.000014 Schroder2.000035 Bray3.010026 Ramirez Nashvilleiphrerbbso Sarfate6.042026 Chavez1.131102 Simpson1.221103 Kershner2.010001 Adams2.030011 Stetter3.020021 Evert2.030001 Meyers (L, Barnwell0.200001 8:07. 9,124.

PCL schedule results Iowa 7, Memphis 2 Colorado Springs 8, Las Vegas 3 Nashville 7, New Orleans 5 New Orleans 5, Nashville 4, 24 innings, game Oklahoma at Albuquerque Omaha at Round Rock Portland at Fresno Tacoma at Salt Lake Tucson at Sacramento FROM PAGE 1C Sounds: Records fall in lengthy game An historic line Here is the linescore from the Nashville Sounds record-breaking loss to the New Orleans Zephyrs. 123456789101112131415161718192021222324RHE New Orleans 002000011000000000000001 5 221 Nashville 101100100000000000000000 4 131 City Game at a glance Winning pitcher: Joe Winkelsas (1-0). Big stick: Nelson Cruz, 3-for-3, double, run, RBI. How they won: The Sounds scored six runs in the fifth inning, and Winkelsas allowed just three hits in five innings of work. What they said: had a big hit to get us a couple of runs, and every hit after that was just as big if not Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas, regarding two-out, two-run double to spark the six-run fifth.

pitchers: Sounds LHP Justin Thompson (2-0, 4.43 ERA). Zephyrs TBA. NASHVILLE 7, NEW ORLEANS 5 (7) N. OrleansabrhbiNashvilleabrhbi Lbndeira, ss4010Gwynn, cf3222 Kelly, cf4110Clark, 2b3111 Harris, 2b4020Hart, lf3111 Brdway, 1b3000N. Cruz, rf3131 Vento, rf3001Abrnthy, 1b3011 Godwin, lf3111Johnson, c3110 Larson, 3b3110Brnwell, ss3120 Castillo, c3121E.

Cruz, 3b3000 Gil, p1111Chavez, p0000 Gryboski, p1000Winklsas, p2000 Totals29594Totals267116 N. 592 (2), Broadway (2). Orleans 4, Nashville 2. (3), Gil (1), Gwynn (8), N. Cruz (11).

(1). (2). (4). Orleans 1. New Orleansiphrerbbso Gil4.275502 Gryboski (L, Nashvilleiphrerbbso Chavez2.064403 Wnklsas (W, 2:03.

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