By Mark Derewicz

July 24

ATLANTIC LEAGUE

• Somerset lefthander Rich Robertson had his bid for a perfect game broken up in the ninth inning on a base hit by Lehigh Valley's Eric Johnson in a 4-0 Patriots win. Robertson, the Pirates ninth-round pick in 1990, gave up the leadoff single but still recorded his fifth shutout in his 11-year career. Robertson, who played for three different major league organizations last season before being granted free agency in October, struck out seven. After Johnson's hit, Robertson went back to work, retiring the side in order. He is 4-4, 3.61 with 45 strikeouts and 43 hits allowed in 57 innings.

• Somerset righthander Ray Davis set a league record by striking out 16 batters in a 5-4 win over Bridgeport July 19. Davis fanned four of six batters between the fourth and fifth innings and five of six between the sixth and eighth innings. He allowed three runs, seven hits and two walks. Davis, the Cardinals 61st-round round draft pick in 1991, leads the Atlantic League with 95 strikeouts in 101 innings. He has allowed 94 hits. Davis, 27, is fifth in the league with a 3.11 ERA, despite his 6-6 record.

• Somerset second baseman Billy Hall stole three bases, had two hits and scored three runs (including the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning), in the same game Davis struck out 16. Hall, who stole second base in the third, seventh and ninth innings, stole two more last night. He has swiped 59 straight bases without being caught, a minor league record.

• Newark first baseman Ozzie Canseco is three homers shy of tying the league record for most home runs. Canseco is hitting .316-30-86 with most of the second half remaining. Former Atlantic City first baseman Juan Thomas hit 33 in 1998. Canseco, 35, is hoping to get signed by a major league organization before he has a chance to break the independent league record of 39 homers, set last season by Alexandria's John O'Brien. Canseco, who was only one homer ahead of Lehigh Valley's Jose Viera, also leads the league in RBIs and slugging percentage (.696).

• Nashua lefthander Ed Riley upped his record to 8-4, 3.40 with a 3-0 win over Lehigh Valley. He struck out six, walked two and scattered five singles in 7 1/3 innings for the Pride's fifth straight win.

• Long Island's Doug Jennings ranks first in the league with a .457 on-base percentage, fifth with a 5.82 slugging percentage and fifth in hitting at .323-12-55.

• Atlantic City catcher and former major leaguer Hector Villanueva leads the league in hitting at .333-24-55. He is third in home runs, tied for third with 88 hits and second with a .652 slugging percentage.

FRONTIER LEAGUE

• River City outfielder Mike Robertson had a pair of hits Sunday and a solo home run Monday to extend his hitting streak to 27 games, eight shy of the league record of 35. Robertson, 25, is hitting .429-6-31 with 14 doubles during the streak. On the season, he has hit safely in 38 of 43 games. Robertson was hitting .293 the day the streak started but now he leads the league at .375-7-38.

• Canton third baseman Frank Alfieri signed a minor league contract with the Brewers and will report to Class A Beloit. Alfieri hit .369-2-18 with 12 doubles in 33 games. He hit .233-1-10 in 43 at-bats with Canton last season after the Astros released him.

• Chillicothe outfielder Joe Colameco signed a minor league deal with the Yankees after hitting .356-3-32 in 135 at-bats. Chillicothe also lost shortstop Mike Cervenak to the Yankees.

• Richmond second baseman Key Voshell signed with the Cardinals, who also signed his highly touted brother Chase. The Cardinals drafted Chase, a shortstop out of Wake Forest, in the third round of this June's draft. Key was hitting .302-1-29 with 10 doubles in 162 at-bats.

NORTHERN LEAGUE

The league announced all-star teams for the East and Central divisions.

Central Division
Pitchers: Jason Pearson (Fargo-Moorhead), Shawn Miller (Fargo-Moorhead), Brian Fitts (Madison), Shawn Onley (Winnipeg); Jeff Keppen (Goldeyes), Derek Fahs (Sioux City), Alan Ochsner (Winnipeg), George Schmidt (Fargo-Moorhead).
Catchers: Jason Hill (St. Paul), Josh Fauske (Winnipeg).
Infielders: Anthony Lewis 1b (Duluth-Superior), Darren Doskocil 2b (Madison), Mike Busch 3b (Sioux Falls), Jack Jones ss (Winnipeg), Cris Colon (Fargo-Moorhead).
Outfielders: Ricky Freeman (Fargo-Moorhead), Harry Berrios (Schaumburg), Jim Rushford (Duluth-Superior), Wes Chamberlain dh (Winnipeg).

East Division
Pitchers: Chad Ward (Adirondack), Bryan Gaal (Allentown), John Challinor (Catskill), Greg Keagle (Elmira), John LeRoy (New Jersey), Mike Bertotti (Waterbury), Steve Thomas (Adirondack), Ryan Halla (Elmira).
Catchers: Guye Senjem (Catskill), Scott McKee (Albany-Colonie).
Infielders: David Kennedy 1b (Quebec), Julio Zorilla 2b (Albany-Colonie), Ender Gonzalez 3b (New Jersey), Chris Miyake (Adirondack), Vic Davila (Albany-Colonie).
Outfielders: Trey Beamon (Allentown), Marlon Roche (Albany-Colonie), Scott Samuels (Allentown), Jon Mueller dh (Albany-Colonie).

• Quebec lefthander Mark Lavenia faced the minimum number of batters, tossing a two-hit shutout in a 1-0 victory over Elmira in the first game of a doubleheader. Lavenia, 27, gave up consecutive singles to start the game before retiring 19 straight batters. Both hitters who reached were thrown out attempting to steal second base. He struck out four to capture his sixth win. Righthander Greg Keagle yielded three hits in a complete game loss for the Pioneers. The former Tigers pitcher allowed a home run, a pair of walks and struck out four batters.

• Schaumburg took a 4-0 lead against Fargo-Moorhead after two innings July 20 but squandered the lead to lose 5-4. Fargo's Kirk Pierce laced a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. Cris Colon's homer in the eighth tied the game. Ricky Freeman went 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. Pierce was one reason the RedHawks are still a force to be reckoned with despite key personnel loses in recent years. Pierce, who spent last season at Double-A Reading, replaced all-star catcher Chris Coste, who was hitting .326-4-8 in 86 at-bats at Triple-A Columbus.

• Duluth-Superior righthander Jordan Romero has allowed six earned runs in 49 innings and is 4-0 in his last four starts, including three complete games and a shutout. Romero, 23, is 5-2, 2.70 with 71 strikeouts, 25 walks and 62 hits allowed in 77 innings. Over his impressive 49-inning stretch, Romero has issued just nine walks.

• Schaumburg signed veteran lefthander Gino Caruso, who went 3-1, 2.41 with the Flyers at the end of last season. Caruso, who has a 14-6, 2.95 Northern League record, went 3-4, 6.59 in 10 starts with Dos Laredos of the Mexican League before moving stateside again.

• Waterbury lefthander Mike Bertotti is 5-6, 1.82 with 81 strikeouts, 32 walks and 47 hits allowed in 74 innings. His new teammate Jim Bullinger is 1-1, 2.25 in three starts. Both pitchers are helping Waturbury compete in the second half after the Spirit finished in last with a 14-29 first half record. Waterbury is 6-3, one game behind Albany-Colonie in the East Division-North. From 1995 to 97, Bertotti pitched with the White Sox while Bullinger was taking the mound with the Cubs from 1992-96.

• St. Paul reliever Rodney Dickinson has been signed by the Red Sox and assigned to Class A Augusta. The 25-year-old righthander went 0-0, 2.95 with 38 strikeouts and 28 hits allowed in 37 innings.

• Schaumburg transferred Jamie Lopiccolo from the coaching box to the lineup after the 27-year-old slugger missed the first half with a viral infection. Lopiccolo, who led the league with 78 RBIs in 1999, played a key role in the Flyers' playoff run last season. DH Jack Voigt was removed from the roster and joined the coaching staff.

• Adirondack's Sean Hearn hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning a 3-2 Lumberjacks win over Elmira. Adirondack couldn't do much against starter Keith Troutman but managed to keep the game tied until Jeremy Book entered the game in the 10th. Troutman scattered five hits and allowed one earned run over nine innings. He fanned five and walked one to trim his ERA to 2.61. Adirondack's Chad Ward allowed 10 hits but only one run over seven innings. Brett Black pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Steve Thomas picked up his 19th save of the season.

• Duluth-Superior's Eddie Lantigua went 2-for-2 with a pair of solo home runs to lead his new team over his old one, the Sioux Falls Canaries, 2-0 Sunday.

• Schaumburg's Ryan Sienko homered in the top of the ninth of a 3-2 Flyers' win over Winnipeg Sunday. Reliever Ryan Haas threw 2 2/3 hitless innings for his first win of the year. Sienko is hitting .192-4-12 but was starting to produce in the second half. He hit a home run in the previous night in a loss to the Goldeyes.

• Elmira closer Ryan Halla signed with the Braves and was assigned to Triple-A Richmond. Halla went 0-2, 1.40 with 20 saves, tied with Adirondack's Steve Thomas for most in the league.

• Sioux City took two of three from St. Paul over the weekend including a pair of well-pitched games. Lefthander Leonardo Patino struck out six, walked two and allowed three hits in eight scoreless innings in a 7-1 win Saturday. The previous night, Clae Calvert fanned seven, issued no walks and allowed four earned runs on 10 hits over 8 1/3 innings. He picked up the win, 7-4.

• Winnipeg defeated Schaumburg 8-5 in 14 innings July 22 in a classic battle. Winnipeg's Mike Trahan hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game but Schaumburg took the lead in the top of the 10th on Harry Berrios' two-out, two-run homer. Winnipeg tied the game again on three consecutive singles in the bottom half of the inning. Schaumburg took the lead again in the top of the 14th on Ryan Sienko's solo home run but Winnipeg tied the game again on Jack Jones' RBI single. Ryan Jones then launched a three-run shot for the win.

TEXAS-LOUISIANA LEAGUE

• Alexandria shortstop Robert Hewes doubled and knocked in a pair of runs in a 13-6 victory over Rio Grande Valley to extend his streak of reaching base safely to 47 straight games. During the streak, Hewes is hitting .354-2-22 with 12 doubles and 10 stolen bases. On the season, he is hitting .350-3-38 9 with 35 strikeouts, 75 walks and 19 stolen bases. He is third in the league in hitting and his .506 on-base percentage is tops in the league. Hewes has hit over .300 in each of the previous three seasons at Alexandria but his glove has been average. He has 22 errors at shortstop, second most among shortstops in the league behind Jackson's Jeff Dillard. To his credit, the Texas-Louisiana League isn't known for kind playing surfaces, and Hewes played mostly third base for most of his professional career. He played mostly second base at Northwestern State but Marvin Cole has been with the Aces since the league began play in 1994. Cole is hitting .341-3-40 with 13 errors.

• The Amarillo Dillas are still rolling despite going 5-5 in their last 10 games. Six regulars are hitting over .300 without DH Matt Dettman as a member of that group. He is hitting .295-13-57 with 16 doubles. Those hitting above .300 include Shawn Hughes (.355-8-67), Jared McAlvain (.332-7-49) and Mike Hardge (.331-7-48). Each is in the top ten in hitting. The hitting has helped three pitchers to win 10 or more games, the only pitchers in the top 10 in ERA with double-digit wins. Mike Leach is 10-3, 3.56, Al Kermode is 11-4, 3.62 and Jason Patrick isn't far behind at 10-3, 4.14. The Dillas are 50-22, 8 1/2 games ahead of San Angelo.

• Alexandria player/manager John O'Brien is second in the league with 14 home runs despite reducing his own playing time due to his managerial duties. The 28-year-old DH is hitting .268-14-35 in 138 at-bats. He holds the independent league record for most home runs with 39, which he hit in 1999.

• Despite spending most of the year in the cellar, a couple of Lafayette Bayou Bullfrogs pitchers are holding their own. Righthander Chris Brown is 4-4, 3.46 with 26 strikeouts, 25 walks and 60 hits allowed in 55 innings. Lefthander Pedro Flores must be learning something from Lafayette pitching coach and former Yankees great Ron Guidry. Flores is 3-3, 3.57 in seven starts. He has allowed 35 hits in 45 innings while striking out 45 and walking 25. He has not allowed a home run this season in the hitter friendly league.

• Ozark Righthander James Wollsheid has done everything possible to earn a shot at affiliated ball. He is 9-4, 2.72 with 114 strikeouts and 42 walks in 109 innings. He has allowed just 80 hits, three of which were home runs. The opposition is hitting .203 against him. Earlier this season, Wollsheid tossed a no-hitter in a seven-inning contest.

WESTERN LEAGUE

• Solano's Manny Gonzalez had his league-record 28-game hitting streak snapped during the Steelheads' 6-3 win over Chico on Sunday. Gonzalez broke the old mark by one game. Sonoma's Dave Mowry and Reno's Carl Nichols both recorded 27-game hitting streaks in 1996. The independent league record of 39 games was set last year by New Jersey's Carmine Cappuccio. During his streak, Gonzalez hit .351-3-29 with 13 doubles. On the season, the switch-hitting outfielder is hitting .315-7-49 with 18 doubles in 219 at-bats.

• Sonoma County DH Charles Poe went 5-for-6 with nine RBIs and two runs scored as the Crushers stomped the Zion Pioneerzz 22-8. Poe, who is hitting .309-6-27, had two doubles and two homers. He was also hit by a pitch. Todd Brock went 3-for-6 with five RBIs and Eric White went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs.

• Feather River righthander Greg Bicknell fanned eight, issued no walks and gave up one earned run on eight hits in a 3-1 win over Solano last night. He upped his mark to 5-3, 3.73.

• Yuma outfielder Jeff Rhein went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a double and a home run in the Bullfrogs' 6-3 win over the Valley Vipers last night.

• Zion's Rod McCall went 4-for5 with two RBIs and a run scored in a 7-5 win over Valley Sunday. Righthander Marty Janzen struck out nine, issued no walks and scattered eight hits over eight innings before giving way to a faulty bull pen. Janzen allowed just one unearned run but lefthander Jason Chivers gave up four runs (two earned) on three hits without recording an out before giving way to Mark Pisciotta. McCall is hitting .346-9-34 with 34 walks and 39 strikeouts in 159 at-bats. Teammate Rob Muro keeps on keepin' on. He ranks second in hitting behind Solano's Eddie Christian at .385-9-52 in 213 at-bats. Christian is hitting .390 in 146 at-bats. Janzen is 3-1, 3.34 on the season.

• Solano came back from a 5-0 deficit with six runs in the bottom of the eighth, in what was looking like a great comeback victory over Chico. The Heat, though, tied the game in the top of the ninth and won it 7-6 with a run in the tenth. Righthander Kris Frank never recorded an out in the eighth inning, but he did give up five earned runs on three hits including a home run.