The Result
Sea Dogs - 8 to 7

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
63 wins - 70 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Designated hitter
Batting #3

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 4 at-bats - 1 x walk, 1 x strike out, 1 x run scored, 1 x GIDP

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - none done
Ball - fast ball - down and in
Ball - change-up - low and away
Ball - low
Ball - low
Walk
Went to second base on a hit
Went to third base on a walk
Scored on a sacrifice fly
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Ball - low
Called strike
Fly ball into shallow centrefield
Out F8
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - outside
Ball - low
Foul ball - back over the top
Swing&miss - at a high fast ball
"And that is driven deep down the leftfield line ...... and it is well hit!!! ...... and the fielder is there and makes a fantastic jumping catch with his back against the wall ...... what a play!!! ...... and Roneberg is 'robbed' of a least a double"
Out F7
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
Swing&miss - "Roneberg swung at ball-one as that fast ball pitch was high"
Foul ball - popped-up and out of play to the left
Foul ball - checked-swing and fouled back to the screen
Ball - breaking ball - "that was very close ...... maybe a little bit low"
Swing&miss - check swing - "that is a ridiculous call as Brett hardly took his bat off his shoulder and the umpire rang him up ...... and Roneberg stood there in shock and looked at the umpire and asked him to get some help from the other umpires ...... there is no way that can be classed as a swing as Brett only moved the bat about a foot"
Strike out
Fifth at-bat
???handed pitcher
Runners at first and third base - one down
"Roneberg goes after the first pitch and hits it towards the Navigators second-baseman who throws to second for the first out and the relay throw to first is in time and Roneberg hits into an inning ending double play"
Out 4-to-6-to-3 double play

Heard during the game
(1) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said "Brett has a six game hitting streak coming in to tonight's game ...... before he left for the Olympics he had hit safely in five games and he picked up two hits last night"

(2) After Brett's fifth at-bat, the commentator mentioned "that is Brett's franchise leading twenty-first double-play hit of the season"

Email from Brett
N/A

Olympic Note
NICE MOMENT

While spirits were low Thursday night after the Sea Dogs were swept by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the players got a lift when Brett Roneberg arrived just as the game ended.

Roneberg wore the silver medal he won at the Athens Olympics as a member of the Australian baseball team.

His teammates swarmed around him with congratulations and for a look at the medal.
Down the hallway, the door leading to the visitors' clubhouse opened slightly, and former Portland third baseman John Hattig peeked his head in, asking for Roneberg.
He gave his former teammate a hug and told him how he watched every game.

Roneberg just kept smiling.
He said it was hard to believe he had considered not going to the Olympics.
"It turned out awesome," he said. "And it was awesome for Australian baseball."

Roneberg hopes baseball will get a boost in his country, which once featured a pro league.

Game Reports
Sea Dogs hang on, nip Norwich

As debuts go, Gary Schneidmiller's was a smash Saturday night at Dodd Stadium.

Schneidmiller, a third baseman who was promoted from Class A Sarasota on Friday, sunk the Norwich Navigators with his bat and his glove as the Portland Sea Dogs hung on for an 8-7 victory.

Besides driving in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly, Schneidmiller also started three double plays.
None was bigger than the twin killing Portland pulled off in the ninth when the Sea Dogs were nursing a one-run lead.
Norwich loaded the bases with no outs against Marc Deschenes on a single by Angel Chavez, an error by shortstop Hanley Ramirez (only his second in 25 games with Portland) and a hit batter (Justin Knoedler).
Derin McMains followed with a hard grounder to third that Schneidmiller turned into a 5-2-3 double play.

Deschenes then fanned Chris Curry for his eighth save.

"All night long (Schneidmiller) made plays," Manager Ron Johnson said.
"He was knocking balls down and saving us runs.
He was huge tonight. He was the game MVP."

Portland led 5-0 entering the fifth inning, due in large part to youthful lefty Abe Alvarez.
Alvarez delivered a textbook performance during his first four innings by throwing strikes and letting his defense work.
In fact, 25 of Alvarez's 40 pitches during that stretch were strikes, and his defense pulled off two gems.
Chavez tried to stretch a third-inning single into a double but was thrown out by left fielder Joe Kilburg.
One inning later, Carlos Valderrama ripped a leadoff double, and after Knoedler fouled out, McMains hit a smash down the third-base line.
Schneidmiller knocked the ball down to rob McMains of a double, tagged Valderrama and fired to first for a double play.

But the Navigators got to Alvarez in the fifth when they batted around and scored five runs on six hits.
A defensive miscue by Alvarez ignited the outburst.
Norwich had runners on second and third with two outs when Randy Walter hit a roller to the right of the mound that should have ended the inning.
But Alvarez muffed the play and Norwich scored its first run.
Two batters later, Valderrama slugged a bases-clearing double, and Knoedler added an RBI infield hit to tie the game.

"Tonight shows that the little things make this an interesting game," Johnson said.
"We've got a 5-0 lead ... and Walter hits one off his fingertips right to Abe Alvarez.
If (Alvarez) catches the ball and flips to (Mike) O'Keefe we're sitting with a 5-0 lead.
But the next thing you know we're tied."

Tied game notwithstanding, Johnson had no intention of yanking Alvarez in the fifth.
"Abe didn't come unglued," Johnson said. "They hit some good pitches.
Abe's probably the calmest player I've coached in the minor leagues.
"The way I look at it is if we feel Abe Alvarez has the ability to pitch in the big leagues, which he already has this year, why am I going to take him out of this game - especially when he's well within his pitch limit," Johnson said.

SEA DOGS WIN THRILLER AT NORWICH ON SATURDAY
Portland Lets 5-Run Lead Slip Away, Rally to Win

Mike Lockwood broke a 5-5 tie with a two-run single in the seventh inning and Marc Deschenes pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning as the Portland Sea Dogs ended a four-game losing streak with an 8-7 win over the Norwich Navigators Saturday night.

Lockwood, Joe Kilburg, Mike O'Keefe and newcomer Gary Schneidmiller all knocked in two runs for Portland.

Schniedmiller also started a key double play in the ninth inning to help the Sea Dogs escape a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the final inning.

Abe Alvarez was staked to a 5-0 lead, but allowed five two-out runs in the fifth inning and failed to earn a decision.
He was trying for his tenth win.

Bryan Hebson earned the win by allowing only an unearned run over two innings.

Deschenes earned his eighth save of the season.

Norwich was officially elimintated from playoff contention with the loss - New Hampshire will meet Binghamton in the Northern Division Championship Series.

Eastern League Game Summary - Portland at Norwich

Mike Lockwood, Mike O'Keefe, Gary Schneidmiller and Joe Kilburg knocked in two runs apiece as the Portland Sea Dogs defeated the Norwich Navigators, 8-7, in Eastern League play Saturday night.

Portland upped its record to 63-70 while Norwich fell to 67-66.

O'Keefe got the Sea Dogs on the board in the first with a two-run single and he finished the night 3-for-5.

Lockwood went 2-for-5 with a run while Kilburg added two base hits.

Sheldon Fuse chipped in with two runs scored for Portland.

Bryan Hebson picked up the win and improved his record to 1-0.
Hebson gave up an unearned run on four hits and struck out two in two innings out of the bullpen.

Marc Deschenes worked two innings en route to his eighth save of the season.

Norwich's Billy Sadler suffered the loss and fell to 0-3.
Sadler was tagged for two runs on four hits and three walks in just 1-2/3rd innings.

Carlos Valderrama went 4-for-5 with two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored for the Navigators.

SEA DOGS WIN SEE SAW WITH NAVIGATORS
Deschenes escapes bases loaded, no-outs jam in ninth in 8-7 win over Norwich

The Navigators rallied to come back from a five-run deficit in the fifth inning, but could not get one run home in the ninth despite loading the bases with no outs in an 8-7 loss to the Sea Dogs.

Mike Lockwood’s two-run single gave the Sea Dogs a 7-5 lead in the seventh after the Navigators had tied it with a five run fifth.

Carlos Valderrama ripped a three run double to bring the Navigators within one after Randy Walter put Norwich on the board with an RBI infield single.
Justin Knoedler brought home Valderrama with an RBI infield single of his own to tie the game.

The Navigators cut the lead to one again on a Derin McMains RBI double in the seventh, but Portland got that run back on Joe Kilburg’s RBI single the next half-inning.

Julian Benavidez promptly retook that run back with a solo homerun in the eighth.

The Navigators loaded the bases on a single by Angel Chavez, an error off the bat of Carlos Valderrama, and a pitch that hit Justin Knoedler, but McMains grounded into a 5-2-3 double play - his third double play of the night.

The Sea Dogs intentionally walked Doug Clark to load the bases, and Deschenes struck out Chris Curry to end the game.

Navigators Fall

The Portland Sea Dogs survived a late rally and held on to beat the Norwich Navigators 8-7 Saturday night in an Eastern League game played before 4,352 at Dodd Stadium.

The Navigators (67-66) play their final home game of the season today at 1:05 p.m. before closing the season with an eight-game road trip at New Hampshire and Bowie.

The Sea Dogs (63-70) scored three times in the first inning, then added two more in the fifth.

But Abe Alvarez's five innings of scoreless pitching fell apart in the bottom of the fifth, when the Navigators scored five runs to tie the game.

Trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth, the Navigators loaded the bases with no outs.
But Derin McMains grounded into his third double-play of the night and Chris Curry struck out to end the game.

Bryan Hebson (1-0) got the win in two innings of relief work.

The fifth-inning Navigators rally saved Matt Cain from a loss.

Billy Sadler (0-3) was the losing pitcher, giving up two runs and walking three in less than two innings work.