FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Charles Leads Charge in Threshers Win

Published on July 21, 2014 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


CLEARWATER, FL (July 20, 2014) - Here were the Stone Crabs, on the precipice of stunning the Threshers in their own ballpark with the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth inning. The third and final call to the bullpen proved to be the most effective because Logan Forsythe came in and got Justin O'Conner to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to get out of the inning. In the ninth, Forsythe spoiled the fun by getting the final three outs after walking the tying run on to begin the frame, and the Threshers won game two by a final of 4-3 in front of 1,629 at Bright House Field.

On a night when Jordan Harrison flashed some of his best stuff, his first inning began with a walk to Roman Quinn. J.P. Crawford's bunt got Quinn to second, and with two outs Art Charles delivered his first big shot with a line single into center for a 1-0 lead. Harrison then struck out Brian Pointer and would not allow another Thresher to get on base until the fifth inning.

With the wind blowing fiercely out towards left, O'Conner took advantage of the conditions and lined Jordan Guth's 2-0 pitch into the left field seats to tie the score in the second. Tyler Goeddel followed with a one out single but was thrown out at second trying to steal by Carlos Ruiz, who was down with the Threshers on a rehab assignment from the Phillies. Guth, in just his second start, got Josh Sale to ground out to short, and the righthander would only allow three singles over his final four innings.

Harrison struck out Brandon Short for the second time to open the fifth before Harold Martinez lined a one out single. A wild pitch to Chris Serritella prompted Martinez to try and advance on the ball in the dirt, but O'Conner bailed out his lefthander with a perfect throw down to second for the out. Once Serritella lined out to center to retire the side, the Threshers were waiting to pounce in the sixth.

Six pitches from Harrison (0-2) produced the first two outs, but suddenly he started missing the plate. A walk to Crawford and a fastball that hit off Ruiz' foot put runners at first and second for Charles, who capitalized on a 2-2 pitch with a screamer to straightaway center that rocked the `Crabs for a two-run triple. Kevin Brandt then came in for the final out, but before he could get it, Pointer snuck a tricky hop over Patrick Leonard and into right field for an RBI single and a 4-1 advantage.

Charlotte loaded the bases against Ulises Joaquin with one out in the eighth following walks to Johnny Field and Tommy Coyle, and a Leonardo Reginatto single into right. After striking out against Guth (2-3) in his first three at bats, Leonard lashed a two-run single down the left field line to make it a 4-3 game. The suddenly reenergized `Crabs could not push the envelope further once Forsythe came in from the bullpen and got O'Conner to hit the first pitch into the inning-ending double play. Forsythe then pitched through a leadoff walk to Tyler Goeddel in the ninth, but retired the bottom third of the order to pick up his first save with the Threshers.

The third game of the series is Tuesday night when Austin Pruitt (6-4, 3.97 ERA) looks to snap the `Crabs three-game losing skid against Colin Kleven (3-8, 4.93 ERA) at 7:00 PM. You can follow all the action by listening to the game on www.stonecrabsbaseball.com via TuneIn Radio, or tuning into 91.7 FM-WVIJ in the Port Charlotte area. The Stone Crabs Pregame Show starts at 6:40 PM on the Stone Crabs Radio Network!

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Florida State League Stories from July 21, 2014


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