Gnats Game Notes: Friday, April 8 at West Virginia Power

Published on April 8, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (1-0) @ West Virginia Power (0-1)

Game #2 - Road Game #2 - Friday - 7:05

RHP Ryan Fraser (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Zach Dodson (0-0, 0.00)

Appalachian Power Park, Charleston, WV

Radio: News/Talk 630 & sandgnats.com

Tonight: The 2010 First-Half Champion Gnats play game two of the 2011 regular season in Charleston, WV against the WV Power, SAL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is game two of a four-game series and a season-opening eight-game road trip.

Home Opener: The Gnats will returning home for their home opener on Friday, April 15th against the Greenville Drive with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. Fireworks follow the game on Opening Night and gates will open two hours prior to game time. The first 5,000 fans to visit Grayson Stadium on Opening Weekend will receive a Magnet Schedule courtesy of the US Coast Guard.

Last Night: The Gnats scored in each of the first four innings on the way to a 7-0 lead and an 8-0 victory over West Virginia. Starter Greg Peaveyset down the first 11 batters in a row, while striking out six of those 11. He finished five innings and yielded just two hits and a walk in his professional debut. The Gnats offense slugged four doubles, two home runs and 12 hits overall. The bullpen of Ronny Morla and Gabriel Zavalacombined on four perfect innings with four strikeouts.

Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser is scheduled to make his Savannah debut and his first professional start tonight. Fraser pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for short-season Brooklyn in 2010. With the Cyclones, he was 3-3 with a 1.44 ERA and 12 saves in 31.1 IP. He struck out 39, walked 20 and yielded just 16 hits. In ratio form, that's 4.6 H/9 IP, 5.7 BB/9 and 11.2 K/9. The Mets drafted Fraser in the 16th round of the 2010 draft out of Memphis. The Rays originally drafted Fraser out of Walker Valley HS in the 49th round in 2006, but he chose to attend Gulf Coast Community College and then Memphis. Fraser excelled on the field and in the classroom as an amateur. On the field, he led the Tigers with 93 strikeouts and 92 IP in 2010 on his way to three C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors and a Second Team All C-USA selection. In the classroom, he was a member of the C-USA All-Academic Team in 2010 and ran a 4.0 gpa in high school where he was a member of the National Honor Society.

Lucky Seven on Opening Night: Seven of the nine batters in the Gnats order had hits... Gnats pitchers worked seven 1-2-3 innings (West Virginia only had runners in the 4th and 5th innings).

Familiar Story: Last night marked the third-straight year the Gnats have won their season-opener. In each of the previous two years, the Savannah team has won its first three games.

New Skipper: Manager Ryan Ellis has begun his first season as a manager in professional baseball. This is Ellis' third season with Savannah after working as the team's hitting coach each of the last two years. Ellis joined the Mets as a coach for AAA Norfolk in the middle of the 2006 season, so this will be his fifth full season with the organization. In 2001, playing for the Vermont Expos in a game against Williamsport in the New York-Penn League, Ellis played all nine defensive positions. In order, he played first base, second, short stop, third base, left field, center field, pitcher and concluded with an inning as a catcher.

Vs. West Virginia: Savannah is 1-0 against the Power in 2011 after going 4-4 against the Power last year. Each team won three of four games in their home park. This is the second straight year the Gnats have opened their season against the Power. Last year, the Gnats won 9-3 on Opening Night, and took three of four to begin the season, outscoring the Power 19-9 in the four-game series.

Major League Staff: Both the Gnats new pitching coach, Glenn Abbott and hitting coach, Benny Distefano played in the Major Leagues. Abbott pitched 11 years going 62-83 with a 4.39 ERA. He pitched for the final two A's teams that won three straight World Series from 1972-4. Distefano, who played five years with the Pirates and Astros, holds the distinction of being Major League Baseball's last left handed-throwing catcher.

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



South Atlantic League Stories from April 8, 2011


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