Aardsma closes over Novoa; Marmol and Gallagher pitch strong; & Patterson homers.

Iowa won 5-3. Starting pitcher Les Walrond had one of those wildly effective nights, walking 4 and hitting 3 batters, but only allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run (plus 2 unearned). Roberto Novoa served as the setup man to David Aardsma as the closer, both throwing shutout innings to preserve the lead. Rightfielder Buck Coats homered and centerfielder Felix Pie went 2-4 with 2 stolen bases. After having Augie Ojeda play shortstop on opening day, manager Mike Quade used my preferred middle infield tonight, shifting Ryan Theriot over to short and starting Mike Fontenot at second base.

West Tenn won 2-1 in 11 innings. Carlos Marmol threw 6 shutout innings, allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks, striking out 6. Eric Patterson homered and Luis Montanez had 3 hits.

Daytona loses 7-3. Sean Gallagher is still good. He threw 6 shutout innings, striking out 8 and walking just 1. Carlos Perez then entered the game and couldn't get anyone out, allowing 4 runs in the 7th inning.

Peoria won 3-0. Todd Blackford, Roberto Sotolongo, and Edward Campusano combined on the shutout, striking out a combined 12. Second baseman Robinson Chirinos went 1-3 with a double and 2 walks.