Hughes in good spirits, wants to return

First baseman Rhyne Hughes lost four teeth and chipped two others in Saturday's ugly hit by pitch. He suffered no fractures, didn't require surgery after being hit in the face and left Baptist South about 2 a.m. today.

"I'm feeling OK, but my lips are really swollen," Hughes said Sunday. "Once the swelling goes down, I'll feel a lot better."

Hughes, who wasn't at the stadium Sunday, said he bit through his bottom lip. He's supposed to see the Biscuits' team dentist Monday and have another visit with an oral surgeon Wednesday. He also saw an oral surgeon Saturday night.

Hughes may be at Riverwalk on Monday and said he plans to return this year.

"The dentist said he thought I could come back before the year ends, especially if we make the playoffs," Hughes said. "I don't know if I'll be nervous or anything at the plate. We'll see how that goes."

The Biscuits are scheduled to add third baseman Patrick Cottrell on Monday to take one of their two open roster spots. Entering Sunday, Cottrell had a .261 average, 10 home runs and 60 RBIs for high-Class A Vero Beach.

In other tidbits, the Devil Rays got a little discount on Mike Prochaska's travel when he was demoted to Montgomery. Prochaska was already planning on the trip to pick up the belongings he'd left here when he was promoted. He had purchased a plane ticket for last Monday early enough to get it cheaply before the Devil Rays decided for him to stay.

Also, way down in Louisiana, Montgomery native Evan Cherry and the Alexandria Aces are one win from the United League championship. The Aces lead Rio Grande 2-0 in the best-of-5 series after winning at Rio Grande the last two nights.

Your lineups for what's become a soggy Sunday ...
BISCUITS
Fernando Perez, cf
Brooks Badeaux, lf
Reid Brignac, ss
John Jaso, c
Chris Nowak, 3b
Gabriel Martinez, 1b
Josh Arhart, c
Erold Andrus, rf
Josh Asanovich, 2b
Jake McGee, lhp

MUDCATS
Dante Brinkley, lf
Rex Rundgren, ss
Chase Lambin, 2b
Lee Mitchell, 3b
Jai Miller, cf
Ryan Bear, dh
Grant Psomas, 1b
Brad Davis, c
Johnny Raburn, rf
Chris Seddon, lhp