UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Former Penn State catcher Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) was recognized for his three home run performance on Friday with a front page story on MiLB.com, the official website of Minor League Baseball. Heath went deep in each of his first three at-bats for the Lexington Legends and fell just short of his fourth long ball, which would have tied a South Atlantic League record.

As of Saturday morning, Heath’s story stood No. 3 on the front page of MiLB.com, only behind former American League MVP Dustin Pedroia’s impending rehab assignment and Yankees prospect J.R. Murphy driving in nine for the Charleston RiverDogs.

In just the fifth game since his call-up, Heath set a career-high (college or professional) with three home runs against the West Virginia Power, single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It marked his first-career multi-homer game in the pros. He hit two in a game on five occasions while at Penn State, including four times in 2010 to tie for tops in the nation.

via Penn State University Official Athletic Site – Baseball.

Ben Heath’s return to State College was brief, uneventful and, surprisingly, featured no fanfare whatsoever.

His departure, however, was far more fruitful.

Heath, the former Penn State baseball standout, learned early Saturday morning that his homecoming at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park would be cancelled. The reason: Heath was being promoted from the New York- Penn League Tri-City ValleyCats to the Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League.

via Heath’s reunion cut short by call-up – Sports | Centre Daily Times – State College, PA | Penn State, Nittany Lions, weather, news, jobs, homes, apartments, real estate.

Earlier this season, Craig Clark was successfully scaling the rugged mountains of minor league baseball. Over the past two months, though, the Spring-Ford graduate has had to deal with some obstacles which have for the moment curtailed his climb.

Clark, a 25-year-old left-hander, saw a promising start for the San Francisco Giants Double-A affiliate in Richmond halted by a couple of untimely injuries.

via Injuries forced rising Clark down to Class A – The Mercury Sports: Pottstown, PA and The Tri County areas of Montgomery, Berks and Chester Counties pottsmerc.com.

Not many paths to Coca-Cola Park and the Triple-A All-Star game have taken as many turns and twists as Nate Bump’s.

From south Florida to Shreveport, La., to State College to Camden, N.J. to, now, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the 33-year-old Towanda, Pa., native has journeyed down almost every highway professional baseball has to offer.

Bump has won a World Series ring, which he earned as part of the 2003 Florida Marlins. He’s still the highest drafted player ever (25th overall in 1998) from Penn State.

via Baseball is fun again for Lehigh Valley IronPigs All-Star pitcher Nate Bump | lehighvalleylive.com.

The book on David Aardsma was always the same: power arm with a blessed fastball, but wild command and an affinity for fly balls – and by extension, home runs. He was essentially a major league journeyman. The former first round pick out of Rice had spent the first few seasons of his career within the Giants organization but only appeared in big league games for the club in 2004. His next major league appearance would come for the Cubs in 2006. In 2007 he’d stay in Chicago, but move to the Southside. In 2008 he’d remain a Stocking, but change hues from Black to Red.

via David Aardsma’s Worst | FanGraphs Baseball.

The 2010 Triple-A All-Star Game at Coca-Cola Park, featuring the top performers from both the International and Pacific Coast League, will be nationally televised on MLB Network, beginning at 7 p.m. on July 14. The All-Star Game is sold out.

via Bump named a AAA all-star – Sports – Daily Review.

FLORENCE, KY – Baseball has long been synonymous with the bond between father and son.

The difference between coach and spectator mirrors the tightrope all fathers walk as both stern disciplinarians and understanding confidants. And often a simple catch with Dad says more then the deepest conversation.

For Freedom infielder Cory Wine, the bond goes even deeper.

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Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said that right-hander David Aardsma will be his closer moving forward despite a blown save Friday night that saw him drop to 0-4 with a 5.95 ERA this season. But Wakamatsu said he might use Aardsma in more non-save situations to stay sharp. “You’d like to be able to put him in [a save] situation a little bit more,” Wakamatsu said. “We talked about not having a save opportunity in so long, and pitching a lot of times with three or four days off. Maybe we’ll use him a little bit more in situations where we won’t allow him to have more than two days off or something.”

The Houston Astros announced Sunday the signing of Penn State power-hitting catcher Ben Heath, the team’s fifth-round pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

Heath, 21, led the Nittany Lions in most offensive categories this season, hitting .369 with a school-record 19 homers, 57 RBI, 53 runs scored, 16 doubles, 148 total bases and a .747 slugging percentage.

He homered against six of Penn State’s eight Big 10 opponents, including multiple home-run games versus Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State.

via Astros sign fifth-rounder Heath.