Aaron Cunningham vs. Jason Hammel
The South Kitsap grads could face each other again on  Saturday night in Denver when the Colorado Rockies take on the San Diego Padres.
Hammel, a 6-foot-6 right-hander, will start for the Rockies. The 2000 South Kitsap grad beat the Padres at  Petco Field on June 29. Cunningham, a 2004 SK grad, got a pinch-hit single in that game. It’s believed to be the first time a pair of Kitsap County products have ever faced off in a Major League Baseball game.
Hammel and Cunningham are both products of the NWAACC. Hammel was a 10th round pick by the Rays in 2002 after his sophomore yeat at Treasure Valley CC in Ontario, Ore., and Cunningham was a sixth-round pick by the White Sox in 2005 after a dynamite freshman season at Everett CC.
Hammel’s 6-3 with a 4.18 ERA, but is 6-1 with a 2.76 over his last 10 starts, which coincides when he recovered from a groin injury. In those 10 starts, he’s gone 7 or more innings five times and 6 or more eight times. He had 55 Ks and just 14 walks over his last 65 1/3 innings.
Cunningham’s hitting .304 since being called up by the Padres last month. The outfielder has 14 hits in 38 at-bats, including a grand slam homer. He’s currently on a 7-game hitting streak.

Willie Bloomquist, Kansas City Royals
Bloomquist is hitting .231 for the Royals (18-for-78). He’s played in 43 games, most as a defensive replacement. We caught up with the South Kitsap utility player  earlier this week when the Royals were in Seattle, and talked to him about his interest in the bobsled and trade rumors.

Jared Prince, Hickory Crawdads (Class A South Atlantic League)
The outfielder from Poulsbo is hitting .287 with 6 homers, 21 doubles and 48 RBI after 70 games. The Crawdads are a Texas Rangers’ affiliate.

Jason Hammel of the Colorado Rockies is on the disabled list after suffering a groin injury on April 26. Hammel (0-2, 9.16 ERA) is off to a tough start. He’s allowed 28 hits and 20 runs in 18 2/3 innings. The South Kitsap grad has struck out 13 and walked eight.

Willie Bloomquist is hitting .148 for the Royals. The South Kitsap grad has made seven starts and has just 4 hits in 27 at-bats, and three came on April 20 at Toronto. Bloomquist does have three stolen bases, second-high on the club, and has scored eight runs.

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Aaron Cunningham, 23, is the starting right fielder for the Portland Beavers, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.. Heading into Tuesday’s game against Tacoma, the South Kitsap grad was hitting .265 with two home runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple and 13 RBI. Cunningham homered on Sunday at Salt Lake City but was 0-for-4 on Monday against the Rainiers. He’s hitting .270 (10-37) over his last 10 games.

Jared Prince, former North Kitsap and Washington State star, is hitting .262 forr the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League. Prince has 1 home run, 6 doubles and 14 RBI. He’s hitting .194 (7-36) over his last 10 games.

THE NBA

Marvin Williams and the Atlanta Hawks play on. In fact, they’re playing the Orlando Heat right now in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Bremerton High grad stepped it up in the last three games against the Bucks. Here’s a glowing review of his play in Game 5 of that series.