Former South Caldwell High product Madison Bumgarner, who was the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the year with the Augusta (Ga.) GreenJackets last season, made a strong debut with his new team, the San Jose Giants, the advanced-Class A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the California League on April 10th.

The left-hander threw six scoreless innings, scattered two hits and struck out five without walking a man as San Jose beat Stockton, 4-0. Bumgarner only threw 62 pitches. Bumgarner was a first-round draft choice of the Giants, and the tenth pick overall, in the 2007 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

And former Pioneer Johnny Greene won’t be playing baseball for the Hickory Crawdads this summer after all. Greene, who graduated from WHS in 2004 and played his college baseball at Western Carolina before being selected by the Texas Rangers in the 2007 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, is now playing for the Rangers advanced-Class A affiliate, the Bakersfield Blaze in the California League. Through five games, Greene is batting .444 with a home run, a double and three RBI.