Game Notes -- 5/3

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Dayton beat the Rattlers 5-2 to sweep the four game series at Time Warner Cable Field. The Rattlers had a 2-1 lead heading after an RBI single by Danny Santin in the bottom of the fourth inning. But, Dayton scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth and two more in the ninth.

ALMOST GOT HIM: Dayton starting pitcher Daryl Thompson entered the game 4-0 in four starts this season and with a 20 inning scoreless streak. The scoreless streak ended on a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Ougi Diaz. Thompson was on the hook for the loss until the Dragons rallied to take the lead in the top of the sixth.

FIRST PRO START: Rattler starter Steve Richard made his first start since June 4, 2005 when he was a member of the University of Maine Black Bears. He went four innings and allowed one run on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

IN THE BEGINNING: The four starters for Dayton in the last series (Thompson, Jordan Smith, Sean Watson, and Travis Webb) combined for the following pitching line: 23IP, 10H, 6R, 2ER, 3BB, 27K. All four picked up wins. The four Timber Rattler starters in the series (Richard, Anthony Varvaro, Nathan Adcock, and Kyle Parker) had this for a pitching line: 20IP, 15H, 12R, 8ER, 7BB, 19K.

4-19: The Rattlers have lost 19 of their first 23 games this season. Since 2000, this is the second worst start to a half by a Rattler team. The 2002 team was 2-20 in their first 22 games of the second half.

ROSTER MOVES: Santin arrived in Appleton on Thursday and was in the starting lineup. Anthony Varvaro was transferred to the roster of the Everett AquaSox, but is still with the team and will make his next scheduled start. Santin, a 23rd round pick of the Mariners out of Miami Dade Community College in the 2003 draft. He played 29 games last season between the Arizona League (8), Everett (19), and Inland Empire (2).

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The South Bend Silver Hawks are the Midwest League affiliates of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are 10-14 so far in 2007 and 9-1/2 games behind the first place Dayton Dragons in the Eastern Division. Last season, The Hawks were 74-62. They qualified for the Midwest League Playoffs as the second half Eastern Division Wild Card. Lansing defeated the Silver Hawks in the first round. In their most recent series, the Hawks split a four game series at Peoria. South Bend won the first two games, but lost the last two games at O’Brien Field. Mark Haley is back as the manager of South Bend.

LAST YEAR: The Timber Rattlers and Silver Hawks played eight times in 2006. The teams split the season series. Wisconsin was 2-2 at Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium and at home.

BETTER DAYS: The Rattlers and Silver Hawks met in the 2005 Midwest League Championship Series. South Bend beat the Rattlers in five games in the best-of-five series.

PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA has placed two members of the current Silver Hawk roster on their top thirty list of Diamondback prospects. Pitcher Brett Anderson is number eleven on the list. Outfielder Gerardo Parra is number 14.

OPPOSING STARTER: Tony Barnette was the 10th round pick of the Diamondbacks in the 2006 draft out of Arizona State University. He was 6-1 in 21 games (seven starts) with a 4.77 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 54-2/3 innings. He made his professional debut with the Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League last season. Barnette was 6-4 with a 3.89ERA in fifteen starts with 74 strikeouts in 76 innings. In his last start for the Silver Hawks, Barnette pitched seven shutout innings against the Kane County Cougars on April 29 and picked up the win. Barnette has pitched seven shutout innings in two straight starts with nine strikeouts and two walks in those fourteen innings. This is Barnette’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.