FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Cruz, Stone Crabs blank Jupiter, 6-0

Published on September 1, 2010 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


JUPITER, Fla. -- Another outstanding start from Joe Cruz and a four-hit night from Reid Fronk helped propel the Charlotte Stone Crabs to a 6-0 victory over the Jupiter Hammerheads on Wednesday at Roger Dean Stadium.

It was business as usual for Cruz, who recorded his Florida State League leading 13th victory of the season as Charlotte's pitching staff combined to toss the team's 12th shut-out of the year.

Hitting atop the order, Fronk enjoyed a season-high 4-for-5 night. He did a little bit of everything, collecting an RBI, stealing a base and scoring a run.

Cruz (13-6) notched his sixth consecutive winning decision by blanking Jupiter for six innings, allowing just three hits and walking two. With 10-strikeouts on the night, Cruz fell just one-shy of his single-game best, set against the Fort Myers Miracle on June 18 when he struck out 11 men.

After winning his 13th game of the season, Cruz now holds a two victory lead over the next closest pitcher. Cruz seeks to follow in the footsteps of former Stone Crabs right-hander Jeremy Hall, who paced the FSL with 14-wins last season.

The Charlotte offense was aided by three errors and a slew misplayed balls by the Jupiter defense. Tyler Bortnick's routine flyball to center dropped between a pair of Hammerheads outfielders and helped spark a four-run fourth inning rally.

Jake Jefferies ripped a two-run single to cap the scoring, while Fronk and Bortnick collected RBI's in that inning as well. Tim Beckham added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to push the Charlotte lead to 6-0.

It was also another productive night at the office for Stephen Vogt, who ripped a pair of doubles and finished 2-for-5 to raise his FSL-leading batting average to .337 on the year.

Third baseman Greg Sexton continued his hot hitting of late, collecting two hits and pushing his modest hitting streak to four games. Over that stretch, Sexton is 8-for-15 with a pair of RBI's and a pair of runs scored.

Cruz and reliever Michael Jarman, who notched his third save of the season by throwing the final three innings, combined to strikeout 13 batters. That pushes the Stone Crabs single-season FSL record to 1,150 on the season.

The Stone Crabs now trail the Bradenton Marauders by just two games in the FSL South Division's second half standings and have a shot to win both halves going into the final weekend of the season. Charlotte (77-58) is now 19-games over .500, the highest the team has been at any point this season and just three victories away from 80 for the year.

The series concludes on Thursday when the Stone Crabs send left-hander Frank De Los Santos (10-9, 4.46) to the mound in search of a four-game sweep. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Check out the Charlotte Stone Crabs Statistics

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



Florida State League Stories from September 1, 2010


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