Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Three teams from Kentucky are among the top 10 ranked cross country squads in the Southeast Region, both on the men’s and women’s lists compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Cory Thorne

The top ranking among state schools came from the Louisville men at No. 4. William & Mary is No. 1, followed by North Carolina State, Virginia and Louisville.

The Cardinals, who will host the NCAA Southeast Regional on Saturday, Nov. 14, are coming off a fourth-place finish in the Big East Conference championships. Cory Thorne, a senior, became U of L’s first-ever Big East cross country individual champion.

After Louisville comes No. 5 Duke, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Eastern Kentucky and, at No. 10, Kentucky.

Wesley Ruttoh

EKU, led by individual champion Wesley Ruttoh, captured its fourth consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championship last weekend.

UK, paced by Luis Orta in 13th place, finished seventh at the Southeastern Conference championships.

Ranked women’s teams from the Bluegrass are Western Kentucky, Kentucky and Louisville at 7-8-9.

Duke leads the women’s rankings, trailed by Virginia, N.C. State, North Carolina, William & Mary, James Madison and the three Kentucky teams. Charlotte completes the top 10.

Janet Jesang

Chelsea Oswald

Western got a 1-2 finish from Janet Jesang and Marion Kandie to run away with its fourth consecutive Sun Belt Conference title.

UK, led by freshman Chelsea Oswald in 14th place, took eighth in the SEC meet.

Sixth-place individual Tarah McKay helped U of L’s team take seventh at the Big East meet.

Astros add pair of former Legends to 40-man roster

The Houston Astros announced Thursday that they have purchased the contracts of left-handed pitcher Fernando Abad and infielder Wladimir Sutil, and added the pair to the 40-man roster.

Fernando Abad

Wladimir Sutil

Both former Lexington Legends were eligible to become minor-league free agents if they had not been added to the 40-man roster by Monday.

Abad, 23, has been in the Astros system for seven seasons. The Dominican spent most of the 2009 campaign with High-A Lancaster, where he was 4-6 with a 4.14 ERA over 41 relief appearances. He struck out 79 and walked only eight. He also made three starts for Double-A Corpus Christi, where he was 0-1 with a 3.21 ERA, 13 strikeouts and three walks.

With the 2008 Legends, Abad was 2-7 with a 3.30 ERA over 45 relief outings. He struck out 94 and walked 13 over 76 1/3 innings. Over his seven seasons in the minors, spanning 410 2/3 innings, Abad has struck out 437 and walked only 59.

Sutil, a Venezuelan who played 66 games over parts of two seasons with the Legends, earned Texas League post-season all-star honors with Corpus Christi in 2009. The shortstop hit .273 over 125 games, with a homer, 37 RBI, 77 runs scored and a club-best 19 stolen bases. He had more walks (44) than strikeouts (42).

Sutil played six games for Lexington in 2005, going 6-for-23 (.261) and driving in three runs. In 2006, he played 60 games with the team before being promoted to High-A. He hit .272 for the Legends, with 12 RBI, 31 runs and 20 stolen bases. Over seven seasons in the Astros system, Sutil has 161 stolen bases.

Lexington Legends Brian Wabick, Brian Pellegrini and Jay Austin have earned organizational Player of the Month honors for June.

The Houston Astros player development department announced Monday the awards for each of the club’s minor-league teams, as determined by each field staff.

Brian Wabick

Wabick, a right-hander, was the Legends’ pitcher of the month. He appeared in six games, including a spot start, going 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA. Wabick gave up five earned runs of 16 1/3 innings.

Brian Pellegrini

Pellegrini, who has seen action at DH, left field and mostly first base, earned his second straight offensive player of the month award. Pellegrini hit .437 (38-for-87) in June, with nine homers and 26 RBI over 24 games.

Jay Austin

Austin, a center fielder, is the Defensive Player of the Month. He has a season fielding percentage of .985 (one error, 130 total chances).

Other players of month in the Astros organization include former Legends Bud Norris and J.R. Towles of Triple-A Round Rock, Polin Trinidad and Wladimir Sutil of Double-A Corpus Christi, and Fernando Abad of High-A Lancaster.

Bud Norris

J.R. Towles

RHP Norris made four starts in June, going 1-1 with a 0.96 ERA over 28 innings. He leads the Pacific Coast League in ERA (2.52) and strikeouts (92).

Towles, a catcher, took offensive honors with a .441 on-base percentage — 11-for-43 (.256) with 12 walks.

Polin Trinidad

Wladimir Sutil

LHP Trinidad was 3-2 with a 0.72 ERA in June, totaling 37 1/3 innings. With an overall record of 7-5 with one save and a 2.94 ERA over 13 games, Trinidad has been promoted to Round Rock.

Sutil, an infielder, snagged offensive honors with the Hooks by hitting .312 (34-for-109) with 16 runs, nine RBI and eight doubles.

Fernando Abad

LHP Abad worked seven games for the JetHawks, going 1-0 with a save and 1.06 ERA over 17 innings.

Other players recognized include Round Rock OF Yordanny Ramirez, Corpus Christi IF Drew Meyer and Lancaster OF J.B. Shuck (defense), and Lancaster OF Jon Gaston (offense). Recognized by the rookie-level Dominican Summer League Astros: RHP Leonardo Alayon, OF Ricardo Heredia (offense) and IF Hector Rodriguez (defense).