Carolina League

FREDERICK -- Last season, the big names, Ryan Minor and Calvin Pickering included, bypassed Frederick on the Orioles' farm-system ladder and went directly from lower Single-A to the Double-A level.This time, the Keys have landed the marquee players.Pitching phenom Matt Riley and first-rounder draft picks Jayson Werth and Darnell McDonald will play in the Carolina League and form the nucleus of a Frederick team that has the ingredients to be the city's best in a decade."Potentially, this club could be real good," said former Orioles catcher and new manager Andy Etchebarren.

BaseballDodgers: Agreed to terms on minor-league contract with Taiwanese P Hong-Chih Kuo.Carolina League (Single-A): Named Frederick IF Ivanon Coffie Player of the Week.BasketballCavaliers: Named Mike Woodson assistant coach.Kings: Renewed contracts of assistant VP-basketball operations Wayne Cooper, assistant coach Pete Carril, scouting director Scotty Stirling, trainer Pete Youngman and scout Keith Drum.Nets: Named Ed Stefanski director of scouting.Pacers: Agreed to $2.53 million, three-year deal with C Jeff Foster, first-round pick.

Frederick Keys general manager Joe Preseren has been named the Carolina League Executive of the Year by the league's executives, directors and field managers.During Preseren's tenure, the Keys have become a far-reaching draw that was ranked first by Street and Smith's Business Journal for fan support among top Single-A teams. This season, the Keys led the league in average attendance and attracted 313,603, including a last-day crowd of 10,848, second-highest ever."I accept the award on behalf of the fans who continue to support the Keys in outstanding numbers," he said.

Usually, young pitchers have to be taught control, how to find and use the strike zone and how to put a harness on their zealousness.Not Josh Towers. The Orioles organization, get this, is trying to teach him to throw fewer strikes."

Yesterday's resultsTriple-A International LeagueSyracuse 3, Rochester 0: Pat Lennon drove in two runs and Billy Koch combined with two relievers on a six-hitter as the SkyChiefs beat the host Red Wings.Syracuse scored two unearned runs in the sixth inning to break up the duel between Koch and Rochester starter Terry Burrows (0-1), who allowed only two hits over six innings.Lennon broke up Burrows' no-hit bid with a single in the fourth. He had a sacrifice fly in the sixth and homered in the ninth.

TRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUERochester 1, Syracuse 0: Willis Otanez's home run in the fourth inning accounted for all the offense and Joel Bennett and Steve Montgomery combined on a two-hitter as the host Red Wings beat the SkyChiefs. Otanez's homer came off Dave Stieb (0-1), who is attempting a comeback at the age of 40. He allowed only one run and three hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out three. Bennett (3-0) struck out eight and walked none in seven innings.DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUENew Britain 2, Bowie 0: Mark Redman and three relievers combined on a two-hit shutout as New Britain beat host Bowie.

YesterdayTRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUERochester 4, Indianapolis 3: Willis Otanez hit a home run, his 18th, off Brian Keyser (4-4) in a three-run fourth inning that rallied the visiting Red Wings. Steve Ontiveros (5-1) got the victory. Bobby Munoz got his ninth save.DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUENew Britain 10, Bowie 8: Chad Moeller paced a ferocious comeback effort as the visiting Rock Cats rallied from an 8-1 deficit.The Baysox struck for seven runs in the bottom half of the second inning. Jim Foster stroked a two-run double down the third-base line, Jesse Garcia and Ryan Minor picked up RBI singles, and Calvin Pickering hit a bases-loaded double as the Baysox opened a 7-1 lead.

Yesterday's resultsTRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUESyracuse 4, Rochester 3: Patrick Lennon's home run in the bottom of the ninth inning propelled the host Skychiefs over the Red Wings. Rochester had tied the game 3-3 in the top of the ninth on a home run by Willie Otanez.DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUEBowie 4, New Britain 2: Matt Snyder struck out nine and Howie Clark hit a three-run homer to lead the visiting Baysox over the Rock Cats.Clark's homer, his second of the year, came off New Britain starter Trevor Cobb (2-4)

Yesterday's resultsTRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUEToledo 8, Rochester 7: The Mud Hens scored three times in the 10th and then held off the Red Wings, who scored two runs in the bottom of the 10th.DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUEBowie 3, Trenton 1: Rocky Coppinger gave up five hits and one run and struck out six over five innings as the host Baysox defeated the Thunder. Ryan Kohlmeier pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save.Tim Garland went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Ryan Luzinski had two hits and an RBI for Bowie, which stranded eight runners.

Yesterday's resultsTRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUEIndianapolis 15, Rochester 6: Jon Nunnally hit a three-run homer and Roberto Petagine had a two-run shot, lifting the host Indians over the Red Wings.Kevin Baez added two hits and an RBI for the Indians, who have won four straight. Scott Ruffcorn (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings of relief.Orlando Miller hit a two-run homer and P. J. Forbes had three hits for Rochester. Gavin Osteen (1-1) was hammered for five runs, four earned, and three hits in 1 1/3 innings.

Triple-A Norfolk catcher Omir Santos, 27, said it would be easy to get caught up in the constant excitement around the team regarding players being called up from the Tides to the Orioles. "You always think about it, but you can't think about it that much," Santos said. "Because if you think about [going to the Orioles], you'll mess up here and start doing bad. If you do your work here, someone will sooner or later give you a chance [in the majors]." The native of Toa Baja, Dominican Republic, has taken his own advice since May 4, when he became the Tides' regular catcher after Chris Heintz went on the disabled list with a sprained left thumb.

FREDERICK -- He towers over his peers but moves so fluidly that you hardly notice. His easy swing produces thunderous home runs to the opposite field. He maintains a relaxed grin as he signs autographs for lines of fans who probably couldn't name most of his teammates. The Orioles knew Matt Wieters was an advanced prospect when they drafted the catcher and signed him to a team-record $6 million bonus last summer. But the former Georgia Tech athlete has exceeded even their expectations in his professional debut, laying waste to the Single-A Carolina League as the No. 3 hitter for the Frederick Keys.

Yesterday TRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE Syracuse 10, Ottawa 7: Winston Abreau gave up three runs on two home runs for the Sky Chiefs in the top of the 10th after the host Lynx (41-41) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth. DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUE Bowie, idle SINGLE-A CAROLINA LEAGUE Frederick 2, Myrtle Beach 0: Jason Fransz hit his Carolina League-leading 13th homer run, helping the visiting Keys shut out the Pelicans and win three in a row for the first time since April.

Yesterday Triple-A International League Ottawa 8, Toledo 7 -- The host Lynx (27-28) won as Julio Manon got the save with his third strikeout of the ninth inning while the Mud Hens had the tying run in scoring position. DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUE Bowie at New Britain, ppd., rain SINGLE-A CAROLINA LEAGUE Kinston 7, Frederick 7, susp., lightning -- The Keys and the visiting Indians played to a tie in the bottom of the seventh inning, when lightning and rain stopped play. Nolan Reimold's two-run homer in the sixth tied it. The game will resume today at 5:30 p.m. SINGLE-A SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE Lexington at Hagerstown, ppd., rain Greensboro 12, Delmarva 10, 10 innings -- The Grasshoppers came back from a 10-5 deficit to tie it in the top of the ninth, then went ahead on back-to-back RBI singles in the 10th, beating the Shorebirds (31-21)

Yesterday TRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE Ottawa 10, Charlotte 8 DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUE Akron 3, Bowie 2 -- The Baysox (22-25) lost as the host Aeros scored two runs with two outs. SINGLE-A CAROLINA LEAGUE Frederick 2, Lynchburg 1 -- For the visiting Keys (21-24), Morgan Clendenin doubled home the winning run in the ninth to beat the Hillcats. SINGLE-A SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE Delmarva 12, Hagerstown 1 -- The visiting Shorebirds (29-17) roughed up Suns pitchers Jim Wladyka and Josh Appell for 10 runs in the final two innings.

Yesterday TRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE Ottawa 6, Syracuse 4 : Eli Whiteside hit two of the Lynx's four bases-empty homers, powering Ottawa (20-22) over the visiting SkyChiefs (19-22). DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUE Bowie 6, Trenton 1: Sandy Madera led off the bottom of the third with a home run, igniting a three-run inning that put the Baysox (22-19) on top of the visiting Thunder for good. SINGLE-A CAROLINA LEAGUE Kinston 4, Frederick 3 SINGLE-A SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE Delmarva 8, Lake County 1 Hagerstown 8, Lakewood 4: Joe Holden, Nick Evans, Jonel Pacheco and Jose Castro each had two-hit games and the Suns got 12 hits in the win over the BlueClaws.

Yesterday TRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE Ottawa at Syracuse, susp., rain: The Lynx are down 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning of a game that will be resumed at 11:05 a.m. today, followed by a regularly scheduled game, which will be shortened to seven innings. DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUE Bowie 4, Harrisburg 3: Home runs by Jeff Fiorentino and Leo Daigle led the Baysox (21-18) to a comeback win over the visiting Senators. SINGLE-A CAROLINA LEAGUE Frederick 5, Myrtle Beach 4 SINGLE-A SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE Hagerstown 9, Lake County 5: The Suns (16-22)

Yesterday TRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE Ottawa 6, Syracuse 4: Andy Tracy and Alejandro Freire each hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning as the Lynx (18-21) beat the visiting SkyChiefs. DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUE Bowie 4, Harrisburg 2: Carlos Jan got his first win of the season with two strikeouts in his only inning, as the Baysox (20-18) beat the visiting Senators. SINGLE-A CAROLINA LEAGUE Myrtle Beach 2, Frederick 0, Game 1 Frederick 5, Myrtle Beach 2, Game 2: The Keys (17-20) rebounded in the second game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, as starter Luis Ramirez struck out eight Pelicans in the first five innings.

Yesterday TRIPLE-A INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE Ottawa at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre: The Lynx (16-20) lost a seven-inning game to the host Red Barons despite leading for most of the game and allowing just four hits. DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUE Trenton 4, Bowie 1: Carl Pavano got the win in his rehabilitation start, giving up one run on three hits in six innings against the visiting Baysox (19-16). SINGLE-A CAROLINA LEAGUE Kinston 14, Frederick 3: Keys pitchers gave up 16 hits, including three home runs to the host Indians as Frederick fell to 15-18.

Yesterday Triple-A International League Ottawa 9, Rochester 1: The Lynx (13-14) got 15 hits in a rout of the Red Wings, giving them the series sweep. Double-A Eastern League Akron 4, Bowie 3: Nathan Panther's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth broke a 3-3 tie. Marino Salas (0-1) took the loss. Single-A Carolina League Wilmington 3, Frederick 2: Visiting Wilmington scored twice in the sixth to go ahead for good. Single-A South Atlantic League Lakewood 5, Delmarva 2 : Brandon Erbe's control problems allowed the host Blueclaws (11-15)