Gnats Game Notes: Monday, April 11 at Hickory Crawdads
April 11, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (1-2, 5th, Southern) vs. Hickory Crawdads (2-2, 5 th, Northern)
Game #4 - Road Game #4 - Monday - 7:00
RHP Erik Goeddel (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Carlos Melo (0-0, 0.00) LP Frans Stadium, Hickory, NC
Radio: News/Talk 630 & sandgnats.com
Tonight: The Gnats will open a four-game series in Hickory, NC against the Hickory Crawdads, the SAL affiliate of the Texas Rangers. This is game four of a seven-game game road trip. The trip was originally scheduled to be eight games, but the Gnats and Power lost a game that will not be made up thanks to back-to-back rainouts on Friday and Saturday.
Home Opener: The Gnats will come back to Savannah for their home opener on Friday, April 15th against the Greenville Drive. First pitch is 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.
Sunday: The Power swept a doubleheader from the Gnats by scores of 9-1 and 2-0. The Gnats scored their only run of the day in the second inning of game one on back-to-back doubles by RF Javier Rodriguez and C Blake Forsythe.
Now Pitching: RHP Erik Goeddel is scheduled to make his Savannah debut tonight and his first start since high school in 2007. The Mets drafted Goeddel in the 24th round of the 2010 draft out of UCLA. Goeddel made one appearance for the GCL Mets on August 14, 2010 throwing one inning with one hit and one strikeout. Goeddel underwent Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school at San Jose's Bellarmine Prep in 2007 and missed most of the next two years at UCLA. In 2010 he was excellent for the Bruins out of the bullpen, striking out 59 and walking 23 while giving up 44 hits in 50 innings. That's 10.6 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and 7.9 H/9. Coming into the 2011 season, Goeddel was ranked as the Mets' 17th best prospect by Baseball America, and the team's 16th best by Baseball Prospectus.
Hot Honeck: 1B Sam Honeck was 5-10 with a double and two RBI in the series against West Virginia. He is one of six players in the SAL with a batting average at, or above .500.
Vs. Hickory: The Gnats and Crawdads split the 2010 season series 2-2. All four games were played at Historic Grayson Stadium. The Crawdads visited Savannah in 2009, but the Gnats did not return the trip. This series is the first time the Gnats have played in Hickory since May 5-10, 2008, when the Gnats took three of four games. In 2011, the two teams are scheduled for eight games, with the Crawdads visiting Savannah May 9-12.
New Skipper: 2011 marks the first season as a manager in professional baseball for Ryan Ellis. 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. Ellis, a 28thround pick of the Montreal Expos in 2000, played two seasons with the Vermont Expos in the New York-Penn League in 2000 and 2001 before finishing his playing for the independent Washington Wild Things in 2002 and 2003, with one game in 2004. In 2001, in a game against Williamsport, 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.
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.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 11, 2011
- Drive Outslug Cross-State Rival RiverDogs, 12-10 - Greenville Drive
- Crawdads Drop Gnats 9-1 Monday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Kannapolis Plates Late Runs Too Top Delmarva, 5-3 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Crawdads Swat Sand Gnats, 9-1 - Hickory Crawdads
- West Virginia Loses 3-1 To The Tourists - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Charleston Erases Deficit, But Falls in Wild 12-10 Final - Charleston RiverDogs
- Braves Get First Win of the Season - Rome Emperors
- Lakewood Outlasts Greensboro 2-1 Monday Night - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Early Deficit Proves Too Great For Augusta - Augusta GreenJackets
- Legends Rained Out, Will Play Two Tuesday - Lexington Legends
- Gnats Game Notes: Monday, April 11 at Hickory Crawdads - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Budig to Deliver the Citadel Graduate College Commencement Address - Charleston RiverDogs
- BlueClaws to Host Hope4Heroes Charity Baseball Game - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- WV Power Game Notes vs Asheville - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Shorebirds Game Notes Vs. Kannapolis - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Suns Shock Braves with Ninth Inning Rally to Sweep Opening Series - Hagerstown Suns
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