Today could be the day. Lakewood goes for their third (and second straight) South Atlantic League title today as they take on Greenville at 4:05.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 3:50)

LAK: RHP Jonathan Pettibone (8-6, 3.49)
GRE: LHP Drake Britton (2-3, 2.97)

Championship Decided Today…Lakewood and Greenville, with Lakewood leading 2-1, play game four at 4:05…If Lakewood wins, then they take their third South Atlantic League title in five years (and in team history), becoming the first team since Savannah in 1993-94 to win back-to-back SAL titles…If Greenville wins, then a winner-take-all game five will follow 45 minutes after the conclusion of game four.

The Walk-Off Win…Jeremy Barnes’ hit to win game three marked Lakewood’s 14th walk-off win this year and the 28th time they won a game in their final at bat.

Happy Birthday…Today marks the 19th birthday of BlueClaws first baseman Jonathan Singleton, who was earlier named the SAL’s Most Outstanding Prospect.

Favorite Day?…Lakewood beat Greenville in game four of the 2009 SAL Championship Series 5-1 in Greenville, also on September 18th.

Jumpin’ Jiwan…BlueClaws CF Jiwan James had been 1-16 in the playoffs before going 3-5 in game two of the Championship Series and then 2-5 in Game Three…In Game Two, he led off the first inning with a double and scored the first run…He later drove in Lakewood’s 2nd run with a fifth inning RBI double…In Game Three, he singled to start the 9th inning and scored the winning run on Jeremy Barnes’ RBI single.

4:09: Pettibone with a 95 mph fastball to strike out Rodriguez to end a 1-2-3 first inning.

4:40: Still no score, Lakewood had two on and two out in the 2nd but Britton struck out Schoenberger.

4:51: Three Drive hits key a two-run inning for Greenville (they loaded the bases with nobody out)…2-0 Drive.

5:06: Diving catch by Jiwan James maybe saves a run to end the 4th inning.

5:23: Huge DP…Pettibone induces Almanzar into a 6-4-3 DP with the bases loaded to end the 5th. Still 2-0 Greenville.

5:40: Sebastian Valle launches a 3 run HR into the LF berm…4-2 Claws, top 6!

6:07: Zeid stays out for the 8th (his 3rd inning of work)…up 4-2.

6:15: 1-2-3 for Zeid with three Ks in the 8th…he’s faced 8 batters, struck out 5, and gotten 9 outs (including a DP).

6:21: 3 outs away…Zeid starts the 9th up 4-2.

Welcome back to FirstEnergy Park for the pivotal game three of the 2010 South Atlantic League Championship Series. Greenville won game one 3-1 and Lakewood game two 6-1. The winner tonight plays for the title tomorrow.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Brody Colvin (6-8, 3.39)
GRE: RHP Chris Balcom-Miller (7-7, 3.30)

Fight Fallout…Six players, three from each team, were suspended for one game due to the benches-clearing brawl from game two on Tuesday…(indicates what game of the series the suspensions will be served)…Lakewood: Leandro Castro (3), Julio Rodriguez (4), Korby Mintken (3)…Greenville: Michael Almanzar (3), Vladimir Frias (4), Jeremy Hazelbaker (3)…The suspensions were announced Tuesday by league President Eric Krupa.

Jumpin’ Jiwan…BlueClaws CF Jiwan James had been 1-16 in the playoffs before going 3-5 in game two of the Championship Series on Tuesday…In that game, he led off the first inning with a double and scored the first run…He later drove in Lakewood’s 2nd run with a fifth inning RBI double.

Surf’s Up…BlueClaws 2B Keoni Ruth, a Honolulu native who was playing for Na Koa Ikaika Maui in the Golden League when the Phillies signed him in August, is 7-20 during the playoffs and has hit safely in four of the five playoff games while reaching base in all five.

Down 1-0, the BlueClaws turn to Julio Rodriguez in game two of the SAL Championship Series here in Greenville. Last night, the Drive picked up a 3-1 win behind Drake Britton, and a loss tonight means the BlueClaws have to win three in a row to win the series.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Julio Rodriguez (5-1, 1.44)
GRE: RHP Ryan Pressly (5-7, 3.72)

Hit Or Miss…The BlueClaws have scored 7, 1, 6 and 1 runs in their four playoff games…They are just 3-22 with runners in scoring position over the first four games of the playoffs and are batting as a team just .175 (22-126)…Keoni Ruth has six of Lakewood’s 22 hits…Not including Ruth (6-17) and Jeremy Barnes (4-12), the BlueClaws are just 12-97 (.124).

They’re Pitching, Though…Despite the offensive struggles, the BlueClaws have allowed a total of five runs (four earned) in 36 innings with opponents batting just .172 against them.

7:14: Got one on three hits…Singleton reached on a FC to drive in Jiwan James, who led off the inning with a double…Here’s Julio.

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From Fluor Field in Greenville, it’s time for game one of the 2010 South Atlantic League Championship Series.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Trevor May (7-3, 2.91)
GRE: LHP Drake Britton (2-3, 2.97)

Going For Two In a Row…The BlueClaws are trying to become the first team since Savannah in 1993 and 1994 to back-to-back South Atlantic League titles…Savannah was then a Cardinals affiliate.

Now THAT’S Pitching…Lakewood’s four Championship Series starters (Trevor May, Julio Rodriguez, Brody Colvin, Jonathan Pettibone) are a combined 13-5 with a 1.97 ERA (151 IP, 96 H, 33 ER, 182 Ks) since August 1st…Rodriguez has allowed three earned runs in 42 innings since re-joining the BlueClaws on July 27th from Williamsport…Pettibone is 6-1 over his last nine starts with a 1.82 ERA including the post-season.

Valle The Power…Sebastian Valle has hit four home runs in 14 career playoff games (one with the 2008 GCL Phillies, one with Lakewood last year, and two with the BlueClaws this year—games one and three against Hickory in the Division Series).

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One for the money…The BlueClaws and the Hickory Crawdads meet tonight in game three of the Northern Division Championship Series tonight at FirstEnergy Park. Greenville gets the winner in a best-of-five series beginning on Monday in South Carolina.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Jonathan Pettibone (8-6, 3.49)
HIC: RHP Jake Brigham (5-5, 3.51)

Win Or Go Home…This is the first time in their history the BlueClaws are playing an elimination game in the post-season…They swept both Division Championship Series (2006 vs Lexington and 2009 vs Kannapolis) and both Championship Series losses (2006 vs Augusta and 2009 vs Greenville) came when the team led the best-of-five series 2-0…Hickory lost game three of the 2007 Northern Division Championship Series 9-4 to West Virginia.

Hot Hitting…Jeremy Barnes (3-6) and Keoni Ruth (5-9) are the only BlueClaws with hits in each of the first two games of this series…Barnes had a double in the 7th inning on Friday night and Keoni Ruth had a tenth inning double but was stranded at second base when the game ended (Valle 5-5-3 double play)…Jonathan Singleton, with one hit in each of the first two games, is the only other BlueClaws player with two hits in the series.

A Pitcher’s Series…Lakewood is 12-68 (.176) as a team in the series while Hickory is 11-65 (.169)…Leury Garcia and Jared Prince each have four hits for the Crawdads…The rest of the team has three combined.

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The BlueClaws can wrap up the Northern Division Championship tonight with a win over Hickory at FirstEnergy Park. First pitch at 7:05. Lakewood won game one 7-0 on Wednesday in Hickory.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Brody Colvin (6-8, 3.39)
HIC: LHP Robbie Erlin (6-3, 2.12)

Digging the Long Ball…The BlueClaws hit at least three home runs in a game just twice this year (four 6/4 at HAG, five 8/10 at WV) but hit three in game one of the series…Sebastian Valle (hit 16), Jonathan Singleton (hit 14) and Alan Schoenberger (hit 5) all went deep for Lakewood.

You Can’t Lose If They Can’t Score…In 13 post-season games (11-2), the BlueClaws have given up a total of 25 runs, 11 in one game (an 11-1 loss to Augusta in game three of the 2006 SAL Championship Series)…In Lakewood’s 11 all- time playoff wins, they have allowed a total of 11 runs.

Mirror Images…With the game one win, the BlueClaws are now 5-0 all time in the South Atlantic League Northern Division Championship Series (2-0 vs Lexington in 2006, 2-0 vs Kannapolis in 2009, 1-0 vs Hickory in 2010)…They are 4-2 all time when they can eliminate the opponent and have never faced elimination in their three year postseason history.

J-Rod…Julio Rodriguez finished the regular season allowing just three earned runs in his last 39 innings (since re-joining the BlueClaws on July 26th)…He gave up 19 hits, 12 walks and struck out 68 in that stretch).

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Greetings from LP Frans Stadium in Hickory, NC where tonight the BlueClaws & Hickory Crawdads open the 2010 South Atlantic League Postseason at LP Frans Stadium. It is a gorgeous evening and should be an exciting game.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Trevor May (7-3, 2.91)
HIC: RHP Neil Ramirez (10-8, 4.43)

May Day…May, 20 (turns 21 on September 23rd), makes his 12th start for Lakewood after opening the season with Clearwater, where he went 5-5, 5.01…He was sent to Lakewood on July 4th when LHP Matt Way went to Clearwater…He threw 11 shutout innings over two starts in last year’s SAL Post-Season after going 4-1, 2.56 with the BlueClaws during the 2009 regular season…Gave up four runs in five innings on 8/25 at Hickory, his lone start against the Crawdads…He struck out at least nine hitters in six of his 11 starts with Lakewood and the 14 that he struck out on 7/26 at Delmarva tied a franchise record (Robinson Tejeda in 2001 and Jason Knapp in 2009)…Between Clearwater and Lakewood, ranks 3rd in MiLB with 182 Ks on the year and 8th in walks with 81 (4th round pick in 2008).

On Ramirez…Ramirez, 21, makes his 29th appearance and 27th start…He beat Lakewood by allowing one run on three hits over six innings on August 25th…Ramirez had an ERA of 5.47 through June but is at 3.20 since…Has pitched into the seventh inning on just three occassions (last 8/30)…9.02 Ks/9 is second among SAL starters…Went 3-6, 4.75 with Hickory last year…Originally committed to Georgia Tech before signing with the Rangers (44th overall pick in 2007).

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Welcome back to FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood where the BlueClaws look for their 80th win of the season on a potential clincher night…they clinch the 2nd half title with a win and a Greensboro loss.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Trevor May (6-3, 3.05)
AUG: RHP Brian Irving (7-5, 4.50)

Let’s Get This Party Started…The BlueClaws can clinch the league’s second half title tonight with a win AND a Greensboro loss…The Grasshoppers are currently 4.5 games behind Lakewood with six games to play…If the BlueClaws do win the second-half title, they will become the first team since Capital City in 2004 and just the fourth (also Lake County in 2003 and Piedmont in 2000) to win both halves (the SAL switched to the current two-half/two-division format in 2000)…None of the three teams to win both halves went on to win the South Atlantic League title…Piedmont, the Phillies SAL affiliate before Lakewood’s 2001 debut, was managed by current BlueClaws hitting coach Greg Legg.

The First Clincher…The BlueClaws clinched the first-half title on the last day of the half, June 20th in a 6-3 win over Kannapolis…Jonathan Singleton hit two home runs in the win.

May Day…May, 20, makes his 11th start with Lakewood after he went 5-5, 5.01 in 17 starts with Hi-A Clearwater…He gave up four runs (tied Lakewood season-high) in five innings at Hickory last Wednesday…May has struck out 85 in just 59 innings with Lakewood and has walked just 19 (he walked 61 in 70 innings with Clearwater)…On July 27th at Delmarva, he struck out 14 Shorebirds, tying a BlueClaws single-game franchise record…In 10 starts with Lakewood, May has struck out at least nine hitters in six of them…Left-handed hitters are batting just .198 against May (.234 for right- handed hitters)

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One night after the 13th walk-off win of the season, the BlueClaws are back in action tonight against Augusta at FirstEnergy Park, with just seven games left in the 2010 regular season.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Brody Colvin (6-7, 3.28)
AUG: RHP Andrew Reichard (4-1, 3.50)

Magic Tricks…The BlueClaws magic number to win the second half title is just three.

Record Chasing…BlueClaws CF Jiwan James has 147 hits on the season, just five off Quintin Berry’s single-season franchise record set in 2007…Sebastian Valle, with 89, is three behind Ryan Howard’s franchise RBI record (Valle was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to Saturday with a right hamstring strain).

The Beal Deal…BlueClaws RHP Justin Beal has has only allowed one run in his last 10.1 innings pitched, including 4.2 scoreless on the current road trip…Beal joined the BlueClaws on 6/27 from Williamsport…He began pitching during his senior year of college at Missouri Southern State.

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Welcome back to FirstEnergy Park. After the final day off of the regular season, the BlueClaws are set to kick off an eight-game homestand beginning with four against the Augusta GreenJackets (Giants). The teams haven’t met since 2008 and Lakewood beat Augusta in the 2006 SAL Championship Series.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Mike Bolsenbroek (0-1, 3.00)
AUG: LHP Kelvin Marte (1-0, 2.70)

Do You Believe in Magic?…The BlueClaws are trying to become the first team since Capital City in 2004 and just the 3rd (Piedmont, a Phillies affiliate managed by current Lakewood hitting coach Greg Legg, in 2000 and Lake County in 2003) to win both halves…They currently lead Greensboro by 4.5 games in the second half standings with eight games left…The BlueClaws magic number is four over Greensboro and three over Hickory and Kannapolis, meaning any combo of four BlueClaws wins and Grasshoppers losses plus any combo of three BlueClaws wins and Kannapolis/Hickory losses would clinch the half for Lakewood.

Barnes Burning Up…On the strength of a 13-30 week, Jeremy Barnes has raised his average up to .296 …Barnes has not been at .300 since May 31st…He is 31-82 (.375) in August with 10 multi-hit games this month…He hit .346 in April, .268 in May, .176 in June, .247 in July.

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Hard to believe but this is the last regular season road game for the BlueClaws as they look to take three of four from Hickory after winning the last two. The winning team has scored multiple runs in the first inning each day and has led throughout.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:45)

LAK: RHP Julio Rodriguez (3-1, 1.85)
HIC: LHP Miguel de los Santos (2-1, 3.99)

Ten In a Row…The BlueClaws have wrapped up a winning record for the 10th consecutive half and 13th among 20 in franchise history…Lakewood had just three winning halves in their first 10 but this would is their 10th straight (beginning with the first half of 2006).

Here Comes Jiwan…BlueClaws CF Jiwan James has 145 hits on the season, just seven off Quintin Berry’s single-season franchise record set in 2007…He has scored 80 runs, 12 less than Michael Bourn’s total of 92 set in the 2004 season.

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Back at LP Frans Stadium here in Hickory where the BlueClaws look to take their second in the first three games against Hickory…Lakewood dropped the series opener 5-3 on Friday and took the second game 7-3 last night. If the playoffs started today, here’s your match-up.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

LAK: RHP Jonathan Pettibone (6-6, 3.57)
HIC: RHP Braden Tullis (6-1, 3.64)

The Pettibone…Pettibone, 20, makes his 23rd appearance and comes off a career long (tying) eight inning outing against Hagerstown on Saturday…The only run he gave up was an 8th inning home run to Sandy Leon…Pettibone has not allowed more than three earned runs in a start since he gave up six in 1/3 of an inning against Greensboro on June 6th…Since then he has an ERA of 2.33, lowing his ERA from 5.98… Pettibone has walked just one hitter in his last three starts and four in his last 39.1 innings pitched…He is 3-1 with a 1.83 ERA over his last six starts.

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Welcome back to LP Frans Stadium here in Hickory where tonight the BlueClaws try to even up their four-game series with the Crawdads after dropping a 5-3 decision last night.

Game Notes
Listen Live (at 6:50)

Don’t Look Now…But here comes Greensboro…The Grasshoppers have won six of their last eight games and are just 2.5 games in back of Lakewood (and tied with Hickory for second place) in the second half standings…Greensboro can make the playoffs if they win the second half, while Hickory would qualify by winning the second half or if the BlueClaws win and Hickory has the next-best overall record (they lead by eight games with 11 to go).

The Comeback Kids…The BlueClaws have won nine games that they have trailed after eight innings this year…No other team in the league has won more than four.

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