BlueClaws Drop Season Opener to Lake County
Published on April 3, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws News Release
LAKEWOOD, N.J. - The BlueClaws opened the 2008 season with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Lake County Captains on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Park.
The BlueClaws have not won a home opener since the inaugural 2001 season, but had plenty of chances to get on the board with a win this time around. Lakewood stranded 12 men without scoring, including eight over a three inning stretch, during which they loaded the bases twice and had two.
Drew Naylor (0-1) pitched well in the Opening Day start, cruising through the first two innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three. But the Australian right-hander ran into some difficulty in a three-run third inning for the Captains. He pitched five innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out six and walking one.
Lake County opened the decisive frame with back-to- back hits before Mark Thompson drove in the game's first run with an RBI groundout. Chris Nash followed three batters later with a base hit to drive in two more.
Lakewood had a series of opportunities to put runs on the board, loading the bases with one out in the fourth and fifth inning. Kelvin De La Cruz (1-0) managed to escape each time with no damage done, impressively striking out Mike Durant and Travis Mattair looking to end the fifth. De La Cruz allowed five hits in five innings of work, while fanning six BlueClaws hitters.
Dominic Brown was the only BlueClaws hitter with more than one hit. The leadoff man went 2-for-5.
The BlueClaws did get some solid help out of the bullpen to keep the game within reach. Moises Melendez allowed one run in two innings of relief, before Chris Kissock and Walter Tejeda pitched a scoreless inning each.
The BlueClaws last won a home opener when they beat the Hickory Crawdads, 3-2, in the first ever game played at FirstEnergy Park. The loss dropped the BlueClaws record on Opening Day to 3-5. Lakewood had never been shutout on Opening Day and had not been shutout in the home opener since a 7-0 loss to Charleston in 2004.
Bringing in the Crowds: Thursday's crowd of 6,338 marked the seventh time in eight years that the BlueClaws brought over 6,000 fans to FirstEnergy Park on Opening Day. The lone sub-6,000-person crowd came in 2004 when the game was postponed twice due to weather.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 3, 2008
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- Tourists Win Thrilling Opening Night Game in Eleven Innings - Asheville Tourists
- GreenJackets Drop Season Opener - Augusta GreenJackets
- BlueClaws Drop Season Opener to Lake County - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Savannah Sand Gnats at Columbus Catfish - Columbus Catfish
- Gnats Set Roster For '08 - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Crawdads Announce 2008 Roster - Hickory Crawdads
- RiverDogs Set For Home Opener Against Savannah - Charleston RiverDogs
- Greensboro Game Notes - Greensboro Grasshoppers
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