FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

'Crabs Come Back for 2-1 Win

Published on July 26, 2015 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


PORT CHARLOTTE, FL (July 26, 2015) - The Stone Crabs and Blue Jays had a few things in common coming into the start of their four game series at Charlotte Sports Park on Sunday afternoon. Both teams had been rained out a day earlier, and a review of their first series showed a four game split at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium back in early June. The end of both teams bullpens had been amongst the best in the Florida State League will All-Star closers Brad Schreiber and Wil Browning rounding things out. And both teams were 2-6 in extra-innings before Jace Conrad's game winning single in the 10th gave Charlotte a 2-1 win for just their second victory when trailing after the eighth.

The threat of rain pushed the start of the game back by 63 minutes when the teams took the field at 2:03. Buddy Borden encountered some issues in his first two innings, especially when he opened the ballgame with a walk to Anthony Alford. The Jays' center fielder stole second and watched as Richard Urena and Rowdy Tellez both flied out to Braxton Lee in center. Borden nearly got out of the inning but Matt Dean bounced a single past second baseman Kean Wong on an 0-2 pitch to drive in the run for a 1-0 lead.

Borden gradually got more comfortable after firing 45 pitches in the first two innings. Over his next three frames, the righthander retired nine of 10 with the Jays only baserunner coming via a two out single by Mitch Nay in the third. Conner Greene was dominant from the outset, and retired the first 13 Stone Crabs he faced before Granden Goetzman lined a one out single in the fifth. Maxx Tissenbaum followed with an opposite field single into left center, but Greene kept it 1-0 by setting down Yoel Araujo and Jace Conrad to end the inning.

After picking up two base hits off Kyle McKenzie in the sixth, Dunedin got two more in the seventh with a one out single by Alford and a grounds rule double from Urena that hopped over the fence down the left field line. McKenzie then fell behind on Tellez 2-0, and Michael Johns called for an intentional walk to load the bases with one out. On the 3-0 offering, McKenzie lobbed it over Tissenbaum's head, only to recover by sprinting to the plate and getting a good throw from the catcher to tag Alford for the second out. With runners at the corners, Dean went down swinging for the third of his four strikeouts.

With Greene in line to pick up his first win, Brady Dragmire dealt two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth to keep the shutout intact. In the ninth, Wong led off against Browning, who had just been recalled from Double-A New Hampshire for his 20th appearance in the Florida State League. On a 3-1 pitch, Wong skied his second triple of the season beyond Alford in center to give the Stone Crabs their first runner past second. Willy Adames fell behind 0-2, but managed to lift a sacrifice fly to center for his 42nd run batted in to tie the score. For Browning, it was just his second blown save of the season and just the second run he had allowed against FSL opponents. However, he'd bounce back by striking out Mike Marjama and Goetzman to send it to extras.

Isaac Gil (2-2) continued his dominant run with three perfect innings of relief after McKenzie, including strikeouts of Tellez and Dean in the 10th. Browning (2-1) returned for the bottom half, and the first pitch to Tissenbaum was hit hard towards right field. Second baseman Dickie Jo Thon made a marvelous diving stop to his left, but the throw to first was just a touch late as Tissenbaum beat the throw with an infield single. Marty Gantt was soon called upon to pinch run, and he stole second base shortly after Yoel Araujo flied out to left. Conrad then worked the count full before rolling a seeing eye single into right for the game winner and his eighth run batted in.

The series continues at Charlotte Sports Park on Monday night at 7:00 PM when Brent Honeywell (2-2, 4.85 ERA) takes on Sean Reid-Foley (0-2, 3.31 ERA). Fans can buy a regular priced ticket and receive an additional ticket for just $1, and enjoy items from our special $1 menu all game long! Tickets are still available, so visit www.stonecrabsbaseball.com or call 941-206-HITS (4487) to order your tickets now!

Check out the Charlotte Stone Crabs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Florida State League Stories from July 26, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central