Gnats Game Notes: Friday, May 20 Vs. Greenville

Published on May 20, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (19-21, 2nd, Southern) vs. Greenville Drive (20-21, 1 st, Southern)

Game #41 -

Home Game #18 - Friday - 7:05 RHP Greg Peavey (3-1, 3.00) vs. RHP Miguel Celestino (2-3, 4.22)

Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA

Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com

Tonight: The Gnats, SAL affiliate of the New York Mets, begin a four-game series against the Greenville Drive, SAL affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Gnats trail the Drive by one half game for first place in the SAL Southern Division.

Last Night: Charleston RiverDogs' 2B Anderson Feliz hit a game winning home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Charleston Riverdogs a 4-3 win over the Savannah Sand Gnats. The Gnats fell behind 3-0, but tied the game on a Robbie Shields RBI double in the sixth and two unearned runs in the seventh.

Now Pitching: RHP Greg Peavey is scheduled to make his ninth start tonight. Peavey has the four-lowest unintentional walk rate in the League with just 1.71 BB-IBB/9 IP. In his last four starts, Peavey has given up just four runs, three earned in his last 23 innings with 22 strikeouts and just three walks. The Mets drafted Peavey in the 6th round in 2010 out of Oregon State. As a Beaver in 2010, Peavey was an All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention and a two-time conference Player of the Week. Peavey had been drafted twice before: in the 24th round of the 2007 draft out of Hudson's Bay High School by the New York Yankees and in the 32nd round of the 2009 draft by the Houston Astros. In high school, he was named Washington's Class 3A baseball Player of the Year in 2007. Peavey had national-level success before high school, helping the Hazel Dell Metro Little League team to the Little League World Series in 2000, and the Hazel Dell Metro Babe Ruth Championship teams in 2001 and 2002. The Gnats are 3-5 when Peavey starts and have supported him with 4.63 runs per game.

Standings Update: Last night's Gnats' loss in 12 innings, coupled with Greenville's 11-inning win over Augusta, moved the Drive past the Gnats into first place. The Drive lead the Gnats by half a game and three more teams, the Asheville Tourists, Charleston RiverDogs and Lexington Legends, by one game. Six teams are playing .500 or better baseball in the Northern Division while no Southern Division team has reached the .500 mark.

Robbie Rollin': Robbie Shields owns a nine-game hitting streak over which time he is 17-38 (.447) with six doubles, two triples, six runs scored and eight RBI. Shields is the second Gnat with a nine-game hitting streak, and is now tied with Aderlin Rodriguez for the best by a Gnat in 2011. In 16 games in May, Shields is now hitting .339/.408/.565 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 11 extra base hits and eight walks against nine strikeouts. He is tied for the SAL lead with four triples.

Cory's Cuts: Cory Vaughn leads the South Atlantic League and is ninth in minor league baseball with a .474 on-base percentage. Vaughn has reached base in 21 straight games, the second-longest active streak in the SAL behind Bryce Massanari (35 games). Vaughn's streak of 21 straight games on base is tied for the sixth-longest in the SAL in 2011.

Pitching to the Top of the Charts: The Gnats lead the SAL in ERA (3.45) and are now second in WHIP (1.28).

Scouting the Drive: Greenville leads the SAL with 45 HR and is second in runs scored (247). The Drive are fourth in on-base percentage (.348) and third in slugging (.439).

Vs. Greenville: The Gnats are 3-1 against the Drive in 2011. Of the 20 meetings between the two teams, 12 games are scheduled for Savannah and eight in Greenville. In 2010, the Gnats were 4-6 against the Drive in the regular season. Greenville, who won the second half, swept Savannah, the First-Half Champions, 2-0 in the first round of the SAL Playoffs.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 20, 2011


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