SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Greensboro Grasshoppers Game Notes

Published on April 15, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


Today's Game

Greensboro Grasshoppers (8-4)

vs. Greenville Drive (8-4)

Starting Pitchers

RHP Jeremiah Haar (0-1, 3.12)

vs. LHP Nick Hagadone (1-1, 0.00)

Quick Stats

GBO Team Batting Average: .258 (4th)

GBO Team ERA: 2.84 (3rd)

GRE Team Batting Average: .270 (3rd)

GRE Team ERA: 3.00 (4th)

Game Information

Start Time: 7:00 p.m.

Ballpark: Fluor Field at the West End (4,300)

Location: Greenville, S.C.

Road Work Resume: Tonight kicks off a six-game road trip for the Grasshoppers that begins with a four-game set in Greenville before heading to Kannapolis for two games... So far this season the Hoppers have played just four games on the road, collecting a 3-1 record to open the 2008 season in Augusta... After winning the first two games of the season, Greensboro's third game against Augusta was rained out and the two split in a Sunday double-header to give the Hoppers a 3-1 series victory.

Series Insight: A jolly green series kicks off tonight as Greensboro and Greenville play game Game 1 of a four game series at Fluor Field at the West End... Tonight's series-opener will mark the earliest meeting that Greensboro and Greenville have had in a season and the first time ever they are playing against the other in April... Previously, the earliest the two teams had met was in a May 23 game in 2006... Greensboro is 9-14 all-time against Greenville and has a 2-9 road record against the Drive... Greensboro's last meeting with the Drive came in a July 3-6, 2007, series when the Hoppers took three-of-four games from Greenville at NewBridge Bank Park... The last time these two teams squared off in Greenville, the Drive swept the four-game series, including two one-run games... All-time, the Hoppers have been out-scored by the Drive, 124-103.

Lasater's Longballs: Ben Lasater went deep twice during Sunday's 12-2 win over Asheville... It marked the first time in his career that he has hit two home runs in the same game... Lasater went 3-for-4 at the plate and collected a single-game team-high and career-most five RBI... Lasater's fourth inning home run was a grand slam-the second grand slam of his career... The infielder last hit a grand slam on Aug. 17, 2007, while playing with Jamestown of the New York Penn League.

Player Notes: Right fielder Mike Stanton is currently on a nine-game hit streak and leads all South Atlantic League with his .425 batting average... Stanton also ranks first in the league with a .700 slugging percentage, second in hits (17) and third in on-base percentage (.467)... Bryan Petersen ranks second in runs scored among SAL players with 10 runs scored.

Bad Bounces: Greensboro has had just one errorless game this season... In all, the Grasshoppers committed 26 errors over the course of their first 11 games (2.36/gm)... After opening the season with at least one error in seven straight games, the Hoppers had an errorless game on April 10 in a 4-1 loss to Hickory, but have since committed two errors in each of their last four games... Greensboro's 26 errors are the most in the South Atlantic League this season... Lexington and Rome are tied for the second-most with 22.

Up Creek Without a Paddle: For the third consecutive game, Greensboro left 10-plus runners on base Monday... Saturday's game saw 13 Greensboro base-runners get stranded while the Hopper left 10 runners on base in both their Sunday and Monday matches... The 13 runners left on base is a season-high and the most for Greensboro since the Hoppers left 14 stranded on June 13, 2007, in a 5-4 loss to Lexington at home.

Above the .500 Mark: After failing to move above the .500 mark in each of their previous two chances, the Greensboro Grasshoppers finally picked up the win that puts them above .500 as a franchise... The Hoppers had gone back and forth between being one-game below and right at .500 until Monday's 3-2 win over Asheville... Greensboro now has a 214-213 franchise record... The Hoppers entered the season with a 206-208 and have recorded season records of 67-71 (2005), 68-69 (2006), 71-69 (2007) and are 7-4 so far this year.

This Day in Hoppers History: Greensboro is win-less in April 15 games since changing the face of the organization from the Bats to the Grasshoppers in 2005... The Hoppers lost their first April 15 game at home against Hickory in a 10-inning affair that saw Greensboro on the wrong side of a 5-3 final... In 2006, Hickory and Greensboro met again on April 15 with the Crawdads earning an 11-5 victory... Last season the Hoppers were scheduled to face Hagerstown, but the game was postponed and made up in an April 16 double-header... Greensboro lost the first game of the double-header 4-7 in the 7-inning contest.

Top Prospects: The Marlins' top pick in the 2007 draft (12th overall), Matt Dominguez, is the highest touted third-baseman on the Marlins' prospect list printed in Baseball America and enters his first full season of professional baseball after playing five games with the Gulf Coast Marlins and 10 games with Jamestown... In the same article, Dominguez was named the Marlins' best Minor League defensive infielder... Mike Stanton, the Marlins' second draftee in the 2007 draft, also split time between the Gulf Coast Marlins (8 games) and Jamestown (9 games) last season... Entering the season, Stanton ranks ninth on Baseball America's top 10 prospects for the Marlins and was tabbed the organization's best power hitter and best athlete in the minors.

Weary Travels: In three seasons, the Greensboro Grasshoppers have never had a winning record on the road and is coming off its worst road record in team history... Last season, the Hoppers were 24-46 (.343) on the road and finished with the 14th-best road record in the 16-team South Atlantic League... This season, the Hoppers are 3-1 after just one series on the road against Augusta to open their 2008 campaign... Overall, Greensboro has a 90-119 (.431) record when playing away from NewBridge Bank Park, compared to a 124-94 (.569) record when playing at home.

Up Next: Greensboro hits the road again for a four-game series in Greenville and a two-game set in Kannapolis... The Hoppers are 9-14 all-time against Kannapolis including a 2-9 mark on the road... Against Kannapolis, the Hoppers are 23-21 all-time and riding a six-game losing streak... Last season Greensboro posted a 9-11 mark against Kannapolis.

Tonight's Starter: Jeremiah Haar (0-1, 3.12) is making his third start of the season after originally planning to be a strong contributor out of the Grasshoppers bullpen... An elbow sprain to the left-handed tosser Jay Voss and a tooth infection to Greensboro's Opening Day starter Hector Correa has forced Hoppers manager Edwin Rodriguez to use Haar as a starter... In his first start (4/6), Haar faced Augusta in the second game of a double-header on the road... Haar tossed 3.0 innings for Greensboro and allowed two unearned runs on three hits while striking out two as the Hoppers went on to win the game... He next appeared at home where he suffered a loss after allowing just three runs in 5.2 innings of work on nine hits against Hickory... 2007 Recap: Haar spent the 2007 season in the Texas Rangers organization where the threw for Clinton of the Midwest League... With Clinton, Haar posted a 6-5 record with a 4.02 ERA in 35 appearances... Of his 35 appearance, 15 of them were starts and he collected seven saves while finishing nine games... In 112.0 innings of work, Haar allowed 128 hits, 60 runs, 50 earned runs, 13 home runs and struck out 63 batters... Career Notes: Haar picked up a win in his professional debut on June 22, 2006, with the Arizona League Rangers... He entered the season with a 10-6 record and a 4.15 ERA in 53 career games, including 18 starts... On the Road: Jeremiah is making his second road start of the season after last appearing in August on April 6 for the second game of a double-header... Haar is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in just one start that lasted 3.0 innings.

- Haar's Last Win: August 21, 2007 @ Quad Cities (4-3 over Tyler Herron)

- Haar's Last Loss: April 10, 2008 vs. Hickory (1-4 to Michael Felix)

- Haar's Career High Strikeouts: 6 (August 19, 2006 vs. Eugene)

Check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 15, 2008


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