CarL1 Carolina Mudcats

Mudcats Win 8-2

Published on May 16, 2003 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Carolina Mudcats News Release


Zebulon, NC -- Before the largest crowd of the season, the Carolina Mudcats evened their series with the Birmingham Barons with an 8-2 win at Five County Stadium on Friday night.

Aaron Small (W, 2-0, 6IP, 4H, 2R, 1ER, 1W, 3K) notched his second win in as many outings for Carolina (26-14), whose Eastern Division lead grew to two games over second-place Tennessee.

Small allowed four hits over a compact 63-pitch six-inning effort played before 6,104 fans. Jose Cueto (ND, 2.2IP, 0H, 0ER, 4W, 1K) came within one out of his second save, but fatigued with three ninth-inning walks giving way to closer Mike Flannery (ND, 0.1IP, 0H, 0ER, 0W, 0K) for the game's final out.

Chris Ashby (HR, 1, 1-4, 3RBI) blasted a first-pitch from Dennis Ulacia (L, 1-5) against the netting in left field for a three-run homer, his first of the season. The blow gave Carolina a 5-1 lead.

Miguel Cabrera iced the win with a two-out, two-run double in the eighth against Jake Meyer.

Trailing 1-0 in the third, Chris Aguila (3-4, R, 2B, W) and Wilson Valdez (1-4, R, 2B, 2RBI, 2SB) hit consecutive doubles, the latter of which was Valdez' ground-rule double to tie the game.

In the fourth, Valdez beat out a double-play grounder to score Brandon Harper (1-3, R, 2B, RBI, SB) from third base, establishing a 2-1 Mudcats lead.

Of Carolina's 11 hits, six were extra-base hits, including five doubles.

Randy Messenger (2-3, 6.57) starts the swing game of the series Saturday night against Birmingham's Tetsu Yofu (2-1, 1.29) at 7:15 PM ET from Five County Stadium.

Notes: 3B Miguel Cabrera was intentionally walked his first two plate appearances by starter Dennis Ulacia. Each time, Cabrera batted with two outs and a runner at third. Both times, Chris Ashby made the final out of the inning. When Cabrera batted in the fifth with a runner at first base, Cabrera finally saw a pitch to hit, singling to right. Ashby's homer ensued... Small, making his first start in two appearances for Carolina, spent late April and early May in extended spring training with the Florida Marlins. Small was released by the Chicago Cubs in the final week of spring training... Ashby's homer occurred in his 98th at-bat of the season with the Mudcats.. Ashby hit a career-high 24 homers in 1997 for the Norwich Navigators of the Eastern League while playing in the New York Yankees system.... Marc DelPiano, the Marlins Director of Player Development, is in Zebulon, NC for the current series with the Barons.... Ulacia, who suffered his fifth loss of the season, going 6-14 led the Southern League in losses with 14 in 2002. Ulacia currently ranks in a second-place tie for losses in 2003... Harper made his return to behind the plate on Friday night, his first action since being plowed over at home plate on April 27 by West Tenn's Jason Dubois. Harper has been bothered by a severe left ankle sprain since. Harper doubled in three at-bats, still noticeably favoring his ankle.... Friday night was Boy Scout Night, who in addition to watching the game, saw the movie The Rookie played on the video board after the game with hundreds of scouts and parents watching from the outfield grass. Following the movie, the scouts slept overnight in pup tents behind the stadium.

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Carolina League Stories from May 16, 2003


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