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Gnats Home Stand Preview: First-Place Gnats Host Greenville for Four

May 19, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Upcoming Promotions

Friday, May 20

Pirate Night & Eye Patch Giveaway: The Gnats will be celebrating all things pirate on Pirate Night with an eye patch giveaway for the first 1,000 fans.

Family Friday: Kids run the bases after the game presented by KIX96 and E93.

Kids Club Family Night: All Kids Club Members receive four FREE General Admission tickets to five different Family Nights

Book Bugs Night: The Gnats recognize students who have successfully completed their Book Bugs Reading Program!

Saturday, May 21

Pooler Community Night & Canned Food Giveaway presented by St. Joseph's/Candler

Bring canned food for the St. Mary's Community Center to receive a FREE ticket to the game thanks to St. Joseph's/Candler. Pooler Community tickets available at the Pooler Chamber of Commerce and St. Joseph's Candler Pooler.

Saturday Night Fireworks: Stay late for an awesome post-game Fireworks display presented by KIX96!

Girl Scout Night: Spend a special night with your troop and the Sand Gnats with this post-game campout. Enjoy a pre-game parade and more.

Sunday, May 22

Kids Eat Free: All kids 12-years old and younger in attendance will receive a voucher good for a FREE hot dog, chips and a drink thanks to Subway.

Bark in the Park: Bring your favorite canine companion. All pooches must show current vaccination records and be on a leash.

Monday, May 23

Dollar Monday: General Admission tickets are just $1 with Kroger Plus Cards or with coupons available in area Kroger locations, in the Savannah Morning News, or online at savannahnow.com and e93fm.com. Hot Dogs, small Natty Lights and sodas, and chips are all $1 at the game. The first 100 families will receive a free reusable grocery bag courtesy of Kroger.

Book Bugs Night: The Gnats recognize students who have successfully completed their Book Bugs Reading Program!

Probable Starters

Day Time Savannah Sand Gnats (19-20) Greenville Drive (19-21)

Fri 7:05 RHP Greg Peavey (3-1, 3.00) RHP Miguel Celestino (2-3, 4.22)

Sat 6:05 RHP Taylor Whitenton (1-0, 1.10) RHP Anthony Renaudo (3-1, 3.86)

Sun 2:05 RHP Ryan Fraser (2-3, 3.05) RHP Brandon Workman (0-3, 4.68)

Mon 7:05 RHP Erik Goeddel (2-2, 2.93) RHP Kyle Stroup (1-4, 8.16)

Players to Watch

Savannah

OF Cory Vaughn - Leads the SAL and is fifth in all of Minor League Baseball in on-base percentage (.485) ... Has reached base safely in 20 straight games, the third-longest active streak in the SAL ... hitting .344/.485/.496 (AVG/OBP/SLG)

3B Aderlin Rodriguez - Tied for fourth in the SAL in HR (9)... leading the Gnats in HR and RBI (28)

SS Robbie Shields - hitting .441 (15 H/34 AB) over current eight game hitting streak with five doubles, two triples, six runs scored and seven RBI.... hitting .333/.400/.561 with 10 extra-base hits and seven walks and eight strikeouts in 15 games in May....tied for the SAL lead with four triples.

RHP Erik Goeddel - 9th in the SAL in ERA (2.93) and strikeouts (43)... owns a K/BB of 5.4 (43 K/8 BB) ... 4th in the SAL in WHIP (1.08) ... Has allowed just one walk in his last 16 innings over three appearances

Greenville

RF Bryce Brentz - Tied for SAL lead in HR (10) and extra-base hits (23), #1 in SAL in RBI (35), hits (58), runs (40), and total bases (104)... #3 in SAL in SLG (.650), #5 in SAL in batting average (.363) and #9 in OBP (.420)

RHP Anthony Ranaudo - #2 in SAL in opponents' batting average (.203)... drafted by the Red Sox in the supplemental first round (39th overall) in 2010... ranked by Baseball America as the #2 prospect in the Boston organization entering 2011 season

LF Brandon Jacobs - #8 in the SAL in batting average (.350), #13 in OBP (.410) and OPS (.960)

All stats as of Thursday, May 19

Series Preview

The Gnats, who are alone in first place for the first time in 2011 after Wednesday's win, take on the Greenville Drive, who have spent much of the first half at the top of the Southern Division, for four games at home this weekend. The top four teams in the SAL Southern Division are separated by just half a game as the Drive are part of a three-way tie for second place behind Savannah. The Gnats are 3-1 against the Drive this year.

These two teams have gone the opposite way in the last two weeks: the Gnats have won nine of their last 14 games while the Drive have lost eight of their last 12 games.

This series matches strength against strength and weakness against weakness. The Gnats boast the South Atlantic League's best pitching staff while the Drive, who are second in the SAL in runs scored (241), have one of the League's best offenses. The Gnats lead the SAL in ERA (3.46) and are second in WHIP (1.28). The Drive hitters lead the SAL in home runs (43) and triples (18) and are fourth in doubles (78) and on-base percentage (.353).

On the other side, Savannah has had trouble scoring runs, and the Drive have had trouble preventing them. The Gnats are last in runs scored (153), batting average (.239) and are tied for third from the bottom in slugging. Savannah is in the top half of the league, 6th, with 32 home runs. The Drive pitching staff has the third-highest ERA in the SAL (5.09) and the teams' 226 runs allowed are fourth overall. The 393 hits the team has allowed is second-most on the circuit, but their 364 strikeouts are the most of any team.

However, the Gnats' offense has started to score more on the team's road trip. In their last six games in Rome and Charleston, the Gnats have scored 43 runs, an average of 7.17 runs per game, well above their season average of 3.92.

All stats as of Thursday, May 19



South Atlantic League Stories from May 19, 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.

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