Less Than One Month Remains in Pride's Regular Season

Published on August 17, 2003 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
American Defenders of New Hampshire News Release


After a July that saw the Pride stumble to an 8-21 record for the month, the early August results for Nashua indicate a significant improvement up and down the lineup. While their 8-6 record still isn't quite what we saw in the 39-24 first half North Division champs, it took them just 14 games to win 8 in August, as opposed to 8 wins in the entire month of July.

Some of the offensive catalysts of this recent turnaround have been Chop Pough, Joe Kilburg and Damian Sapp. Pough is hitting .300 over his last ten games with 2 HRs and 9 RBI, while Kilburg's 12 hits and six RBI have him hitting at a .316 clip over the last ten. Sapp has hit .529 in the last five games with 1 HR.

On the mound, the whole staff has combined for the 8-6 record, with a 2.78 ERA in 120 IP in August so far. Starters Carlos Chantres and Archie Corbin are both 2-0 with ERA's well below 2.00, while Bubba Hardwick, Rusty Meacham, Dave Richards, Enrique Ramirez and newly-acquired Kevin McGlinchy have yet to yield an earned run in 20.4 combined IP out of the 'pen.

The playoffs begin in just about a month, and the Pride have been fine-tuning the team towards making a run at the 2003 Atlantic League championship. Playoff tickets are now on sale, as are tickets for the remaining Pride home games.

REMAINING HOME SCHEDULE
8/21 vs. Somerset - 7:05 PM (Thu)
8/22 vs. Somerset - 7:05 PM (Fri)
8/23 vs. Somerset - 7:05 PM (Sat)
8/24 vs. Long Island - 6:05 PM (Sun)
8/25 vs. Long Island - 6:35 PM (Mon)
8/26 vs. Long Island - 6:35 PM (Tue)

8/30 vs. Newark - 7:05 PM (Sat)
8/31 vs. Newark - 6:05 PM (Sun)
9/1 vs. Newark - 6:35 PM (Mon)
9/2 vs. Atlantic City - 6:35 PM (Tue)
9/3 vs. Atlantic City - 7:05 PM (Wed)
9/4 vs. Atlantic City - 7:05 PM (Thu)

9/12 vs. Bridgeport - 7:05 PM (Fri)
9/13 vs. Bridgeport - 7:05 PM (Sat)
9/14 vs. Bridgeport - 2:05 PM (Sun)

THE PRIDE'S FIRST HOME PLAYOFF GAME IS WED., SEPT. 17TH AT HISTORIC HOLMAN STADIUM AT 7:05 PM. CALL 603-883-BALL, LOG ON TO NashuaPride.com, OR STOP BY THE STADIUM BOX OFFICE FOR ALL THE DETAILS ON PLAYOFF TICKETS.

REMAINING 2003 GAME-DAY PROMOTIONS Thursday, August 21st vs. Somerset - Concord, Contoocook, Bow, Weare and Hopkinton TOWN NIGHT!

Friday, August 22nd vs. Somerset – Back To School Night presented by Sovereign Bank. Also Manchester TOWN NIGHT!

Saturday, August 23rd vs. Somerset – Post-Game Fireworks

Sunday, August 24th vs. Long Island - Amherst, Hollis & Brookline TOWN NIGHT! Tuesday, August 26th vs. Long Island - CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS NIGHT, Presented by Scholastic, Inc.

Saturday, August 30th vs. Newark – Pride T-Shirt Giveaway. Also Bedford, New Boston & Goffstown TOWN NIGHT! Plus the Light the Night Walk with the Nashua Pride & The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Sunday, August 31st vs. Newark - Derry, Londonderry, Sandown, Windham & Chester TOWN NIGHT!

Monday, September 1st vs. Newark - Lowell, MA, Chelmsford, MA & Lawrence, MA TOWN NIGHT!

Friday, September 12th vs. Bridgeport – Salute to New England Patriots. Also ALL-OF-MASSACHUSETTS TOWN NIGHT!

Saturday, September 13th vs. Bridgeport – Salute to Boston Celtics. Also Portsmouth, Durham, Hampton, Newington & Seabrook TOWN NIGHT!

Sunday, September 14th vs. Bridgeport – The World Famous Monkey Boy!

TOWN NIGHT tickets are just $4 for residents of featured town.

Don't forget about FAMILY NIGHTS on Monday's & Tuesday's...4 tickets for just $20. Or SENIOR NIGHTS on Wednesday's & Thursday's as reserved tickets are just $6 for age 60 and up.

BUDWEISER FRESHNESS THURSDAYS...the freshest Bud beer, every Thursday all season

MARGARITA'S SUNDAYS...fun & games every Sunday all season courtesy of Margarita's Restaurant, and kids 12 & under get to run the bases after the game.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

8/19/2003 Merrimack Library Summer Reading Wrap-up Party 470 Daniel Webster Highway 1:30pm-3pm mascot, Pride player

9/1/2003 Milford Lion's Club Parade Power St. Milford 1pm-2pm Shag

9/2/2003 Eddie B Golf Tournament Overlook Golf Club TBA Prime Time, Pride players

9/12/2003 Hunt Community Center Baseball Lunch Nashua 12pm-1pm mascot, 2 Pride players

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Don't forget to get your copy of the August 18th issue of ESPN the Magazine to see your Nashua Pride's six-page feature story. Look for the issue with controversial New York Giants receiver Jeremy Shockey on the cover.

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AROUND THE LEAGUE

Transactions have been heating up all over the Atlantic League as teams across the professional spectrum prepare for the stretch run to the end of the season.

Here in Nashua, David Francia was scooped up by his old club the Philadelphia Phillies and assigned to Triple A Scranton just before the Pride announced a series of moves designed to bolster the club as it prepares for the postseason.

These moves included the return of INF James Lofton, a key player down the stretch on the 2000 team that won the Atlantic League championship, and RHP Ned Darley, who left the team earlier this season to play in Asia.

Lofton, one of only two players to debut in the major leagues after playing for the Pride, is currently in his 11th year in professional baseball. He has appeared in 83 games for Reynosa (Mexican League, AAA) this season, batting .260 with 2 homeruns and 28 RBI. Originally a 13th round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 1993, Lofton finally made it to the majors with Boston in 2001, appearing in eight games during a September callup. His first tour of duty with the Pride had come in September of the previous year, when he helped the team to its first Atlantic League championship.

Darley, a hard throwing righty, appeared in eleven games for the Pride earlier this season before leaving Nashua for China at the end of June. He was 1-0 with 4 saves for Nashua, and also played with the Pride in 2001.

The Pride also announced that RHP Kevin McGlinchey and INF Raul Rodarte have agreed to terms. McGlinchey, who put together a 7-3 record and 2.75 ERA in 74 games with the Atlanta Braves in 1999-2000 (including two innings of work in Game Two of the '99 Fall Classic), missed all of the 2002 campaign with shoulder problems. The 26 year old started on the comeback trail this year, posting a 1-1 record and 9.00 ERA in twelve games with the Long Island Ducks.

Rodarte, a right handed hitting third baseman, has split the 2003 campaign between Monterrey and Reynosa (Mexican League, AAA), hitting a combined .337 with eight homeruns and 39 RBI in 90 games. A career .296 hitter who has the proven ability to balance power (141 homeruns) with speed (170 stolen bases), the 33 year old veteran of thirteen minor league seasons is no stranger to the Atlantic League—he previously played for Camden (2001) and Somerset (2002).

To make room on the roster, the Pride released INF Garrett Larkin and OF Tim Garland, while placing pitcher John Roper on the inactive list.

THE SOMERSET PATRIOTS of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball have announced that catcher Mitch Meluskey has signed with the Houston Astros.

Meluskey finished his time with the Patriots with a .392 batting average, with nine doubles and 19 RBI in 28 games. He began the 2003 season with the Nashua Pride and his combined totals in the Atlantic League this season were a .392 batting average, 18 doubles, and 34 RBI in 63 games.

Meluskey has three seasons of Major League Baseball experience with the Astros. He has a Major League career .286 batting average with 116 hits, 23 doubles, 15 home runs and 73 RBI in 143 games. In 2000, he had a .300 batting average with 14 home runs and 69 RBI for the Astros.

The Patriots also announced the signing of outfielder Edgard Clemente, the nephew of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall Of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente.

Edgard Clemente has 114 games of Major League experience with the Colorado Rockies and Anaheim Angels. He also played in the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers organizations.

Clemente played 96 games with the Cancun Lobstermen of the Mexican League earlier this season and spent the entire 2002 season at the Triple-A level for the Red Sox and Brewers. He has a minor league career .269 batting average with 963 hits, 189 doubles, 125 home runs, and 496 RBI.

THE NEWARK BEARS announced two player transactions involving two players who were selected to play in the 2003 Atlantic League All Star Game. The Bears have sold the contract of outfielder Michael Coleman to the Cincinnati Reds organization and have also traded right-handed pitcher Matt Wagner to the Atlantic City Surf for future considerations.

Coleman, 28, was assigned by the Reds to the club's triple-A affiliate in Louisville. He leaves the Bears as the Atlantic League leader in home runs (23), runs-batted-in (68) and slugging percentage (.694). He also is the league's third-leading hitter with a .320 average. Coleman achieved these tremendous offensive numbers despite the fact that he did not join the Bears until June 4th, a full month into the season, and played in 61 games.

The 31 year-old Wagner posted a 9-5 record and a 3.25 ERA in 18 starts for the Bears this season. The former Major League right-hander ranked fourth in the league in strikeouts (81) and innings pitched (121.2) and had the ninth lowest ERA.

THE CAMDEN RIVERSHARKS have signed Rancocas Valley High School product Bryan Ward. Ward, who comes to the Riversharks after pitching for Saltillo of the Mexican League where he was 4-3 with a 4.14 ERA, will move right into Camden's starting rotation and begin his Atlantic League career at Newark on Monday, August 18 against the Bears.

Ward has appeared in 95 Major League Baseball games where he posted a 1-3 record and a 5.09 for Chicago (AL), Philadelphia and Anaheim. Ward's best Major League season came in 2000 with the Phillies when he was 0-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 20 games.

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THE NORTHEAST BLACKOUT OF 2003 took its toll on the Atlantic League.

The Bridgeport Bluefish vs. Long Island Ducks game that was scheduled for August 14th was postponed until September 8 at Long Island for a 7:05 p.m. start.

The Blackout that crippled the Northeast took it's toll on Citibank Park as the facility was not able to regain power even after a sizeable delay as both teams held out hope to play.

The September 8th reschedule date could prove to be a crucial game as the playoff race will be winding down. The Bluefish are currently five games behind the Ducks in the North Division.

The Newark Bears game originally scheduled against the Pennsylvania Road Warriors for August 14 was also postponed because of the Blackout, and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Friday, September 12, 2003 at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. The doubleheader will begin at 6:05 PM that evening.

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Canadian American League Stories from August 17, 2003


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