MiLB: Maloney gaining more confidence with Louisville

Huron's Matt Maloney has gotten back in the groove for the Louisville Bats as he toed the hill twice this week.

He went eight strong innings June 23 against Charlotte only to suffer a 3-2 setback. He scattered seven hits, striking out three and didn't walk a batter giving up single runs in the second, third and sixth innings.

He came back Sunday to record his fifth win of the season with a victory over Gwinnett. He went 62/3 innings striking out six and walking two.

His totals now at Louisville show a 5-4 record with an ERA of 2.30. The big left hander has started 12 games, pitching a total of 82 innings with 67 strikeouts and just 11 walks. He has three complete games to his credit.

The Bats continue to lead the International League West with a 41-35 mark, 41/2 games over second-place Indianapolis and 71/2 games over both Columbus and Toledo.

Brian Bixler, a Perkins graduate, hit safely in five of six games this week only to have his eight-game hitting streak snapped Saturday against Toledo.

Bixler is batting .242 and played several games this week at second base.

The Indians travel to Lehigh Valley before returning home to host Louisville over the holiday weekend.

Also in triple "A" news from Iowa, Bellevue's Brad Snyder remains on the disabled list suffering a broken wrist, and has not played since May 18. He was hitting .319 at that time, which included hits in 27 of his last 28 games.

Andrea Breen, Media Relations Director for the Iowa Cubs, said Monday the mending process has been very slow. Snyder is scheduled to return to the doctor the second week in July for his next examination.

The team is now just 21/2 games behind Nashville in the American North division of the Pacific Coast League. Their record is 40-36. Albuquerque continues to lead the South, while over in the Pacific North Colorado Springs is in first with Sacramento holding the same position in the South.

Ben Snyder made two relief appearances this past week for the Connecticut Defenders in the Eastern League, picking up his first save of the season on Saturday against New Britain.

He went three strong innings, allowing just one hit, striking out two and walking one to lower his ERA to 1.92.

The left hander now has a 3-2 record with the one save and six holds to his credit. He has pitched in 51.2 innings, recording 52 strike outs and walking 20.

The Defenders have a 41/2 -game lead in their division over New Britain, while the Akron Aeros have an eight-game lead over Reading in the South.

The Lake Erie Crushers are currently on a three-game winning streak and have won five of their last six. They remain in second place in the Eastern division of the Frontier League just three games behind Kalamazoo. River City holds a 31/2 game lead over Windy City and Southern Illinois in the West.

The Crushers have played 17 home games so far in their inaugural season and are averaging 2,633 fans per game, the fifth best attendance in the 12-team league.

They are on the road today for a doubleheader in Waterford, Mich. as they meet the Midwest Sliders and follow that with a single game Wednesday. They return home for the July 4 weekend as they host the Florence Freedom on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 5:05 p.m. at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon.