Gnats Game Notes
Published on June 25, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (42-29/0-1, t-4th, Southern) Asheville Tourists (30-40/1-0, t-1st, Southern)
Game #72 - Home Game #37 - Friday - 7:05
LHP Jimmy Fuller (6-2, 1.94) vs. RHP Juan Gonzalez (3-2, 3.27)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first half champion Savannah Sand Gnats play game two of the second half and game two of a five game series with the Asheville Tourists.
Last Night: The Tourists beat the Gnats 2-0 in the first game of the second half. Asheville pitching no-hit Savannah through 6.2 innings until Alonzo Harris's single with two outs in the seventh. Pedro Zapata doubled leading off the eighth inning for the only other Gnats' hit. Armando Rodriguez gave up just one unearned run in 4.1 innings.
Now Pitching: Jimmy Fuller will make his 15th start as a Gnat. He is sixth in the SAL with a 1.94 ERA and first among active pitchers with 79 strikeouts. The Gnats are 12-2 when Fuller starts, an .857 winning percentage, their best with any starting pitcher. Fuller started Sunday's first half finale, which the Gnats won 9-5, to clinch the championship. He took a 6-1 lead into the fifth inning, but allowed four unearned runs in the frame thanks to his own throwing error and one by 2B Michael Fisher. Fuller, one of six Gnats selected to the SAL Southern Division All-Star team, is the only one to return to Savannah for the second half. He was an All-Star a year ago with Brooklyn in 2009, when he was 3-6 with a 2.86 ERA in 12 games, 11 of which were starts with the Cyclones. He fanned 67 and issued 15 walks for a sterling K/BB ratio of 4.67. Fuller was a DII All-American in 2008 at Southern Connecticut State University where he led DII in strikeouts with 145, averaging 13 whiffs per nine innings. He also had a DII record streak of 59 scoreless innings in 2008. The Mets drafted Fuller in the 21th round in 2008.
Roster Moves: Between the end of the first half Sunday, and Thursday's game, the Sand Gnats made 18 roster moves, with 18 different players. The Gnats have eight new players, three pitchers (Luis Rojas, Marcos Tabata, and Gabriel Zavala) and five position players (C Juan Torres, INF Ryan Mollica, 1B Travis Ozga, SS Wilfredo Tovar and OF RJ Harris). Torres, Tovar, Mollica and Tabata were playing for St. Lucie, Harris was in Brooklyn while Ozga was playing for Kingsport.
Bye-Bye: The Sand Gnats have hit 27 home runs this year. Players responsible for hitting 19 of them (70%) were promoted to St. Lucie on Thursday.
Last Night: The Gnats were held to two hits for the second time this year.
Vs. Asheville: The Gnats are 2-3 against the Tourists this year. The two teams are scheduled for 18 games this year, 14 of which will be played in the second half. The Gnats were 5-7 against the Tourists last year. The Gnats are 15-21 against the Tourists as a Mets affiliate.
Simply the Best: The Gnats' pitching staff leads the SAL and all full-season minor league baseball teams with a 2.50 ERA.
ZAP: With his eighth inning double last night, Pedro Zapata has hit safely in eight straight games and 18 of his last 19 contests. In his last eight games, Zapata is hitting .469 (15-for-32). He's up to fifth in the SAL in hits (78). He's hitting .373/.427/.433 in 16 games in June. His OPS by month: April- .645, May- .728, June- .873.
Half History: The won their first half title since winning the second half in 1994. The Savannah franchise won both halves of the Southern Division in 1993 and made the playoffs as a wild card in 1996.
Last Championship: The Savannah franchise has not made the playoffs since winning the SAL Championship as the Savannah Cardinals in 1996. The Cardinals, who made the playoffs as a wild card that year, beat the Delmarva Shorebirds, in their first year in the league, 3-2 in that series, sweeping a doubleheader to capture the league title.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 25, 2010
- Gnats swarm Tourists - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Intimidators Drop Contest 9-3 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Rome scores six in first, holds on for 6-3 win over Legends - Lexington Legends
- Greenville Again Rallies Past Charleston, 3-1 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Greenville Again Rallies Past Charleston, 3-1 - Charleston RiverDogs
- 14-Hit Attack Drives 9-3 Jackets Rout - Augusta GreenJackets
- Wieland deals complete game shutout, 4-0 - Hickory Crawdads
- Suns Drop 4-0 Against Crawdads - Hagerstown Suns
- Wieland Deals Complete Game Shutout, 4-0 - Hickory Crawdads
- 'Birds Open Second Half with Two Losses to Lakewood - Delmarva Shorebirds
- BlueClaws Outduel Shorebirds in Nightcap - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- BlueClaws Take Suspended Game 5-2 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Gnats Game Notes - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Shorebirds Game Notes - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Eury Perez To Play In Futures Game - Hagerstown Suns
- Drive Invites Everyone In Greenville To "Pitch In" For Charity - Greenville Drive
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.
