St. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Asheville Tourists manager Joe Mikulik, pitching coach Doug Linton and seven players for the Tourists have been named to the Southern Division team for the 2008 South Atlantic League All-Star Game, scheduled to be played on June 17 at Greensboro’s NewBridge Bank Park.

Joining Mikulik and Linton will be pitchers Jhoulys Chacin, Joey Williamson and Randall Taylor, second baseman Everth Cabrera, third baseman Darin Holcomb and outfielders Michael Mitchell and Brian Rike. Chacin has been tabbed as the starting pitcher for the Southern Division.

Chacin has been the dominant pitcher in the SAL thus far in 2008. He entered games on June 2 leading the league with nine wins and 84 innings pitched and ranking second with 74 strikeouts and third with a 1.84 ERA. Taylor tops the circuit with 19 saves and is tied for first with 24 appearances. Williamson has also been effective in a relief role, going 1-0 with a 1.36 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .179 average.

Holcomb has been the league’s best all-around hitter in the SAL. He paces the loop with 29 extra-base hits and 21 doubles, is tied for the top spot with 71 hits, and ranks third with 43 RBIs and fifth with a .327 batting average. Cabrera, meanwhile, has been a cataylst for the Tourists while leading the SAL with 38 stolen bases, tying for second with 43 runs scored and ranking fifth with a .390 on-base percentage.

In the outfield, Mitchell has manned the middle garden while ranking fourth in the league with a .393 on-base percentage, fifth with 39 runs scored and ninth with a .318 batting average. Rike, the Tourists’ right fielder, has been the team’s top power producer, ranking first in the league with 44 runs scored and second with 11 home runs.

The all-star rosters were determined via ballots distributed to the 16 teams’ coaching staffs, front office personnel and local media. The 49th Annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game will begin at 7 p.m. at Greensboro’s NewBridge Bank Park.

Rome threatened to tie up the game with back to back triples in the eighth inning off Craig Baker. Jason Heyward tripled and Freddie Freeman added his fourth hit of the night, a triple to pull the Braves within 6-4. Baker would then buckle down and strikeout the next three batters to preserve the lead. Randall Taylor then entered in the ninth and picked up his 18th save by striking out the side.

John Smoltz made his final minor league appearance with a scoreless eighth inning. Smoltz threw 13 pitches and struck out one. Michael Mitchell reached on an error off Smoltz, the only batter to reach against the Future Hall of Famer.

Asheville has 14 games remaining and need three wins to match their win total from the first half last season. Asheville will go for the sweep and their eighth consecutive victory on Sunday at 2:05 with Jhoulys Chacin (8-1) on the mound.