FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Huge 3rd Inning Lifts Miracle to 12-1 Victory

Published on June 23, 2014 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


PORT CHARLOTTE, FL (June 23, 2014) - Before Monday night's game with the Miracle, Jared Sandberg touched on the optimism regarding his team's present state. He spoke about the close calls and near misses that hadn't gone their way, pointing out that while losing 11 out of 12, the Stone Crabs were in far too many of those games to feel deflated. The Miracle then took all that optimism away early with three runs in the first on the way to a 12-1 victory in front of 985 at Charlotte Sports Park.

Blake Snell came into his fifth start with a 1-3 record through his first four, including losses in two straight. One of those was June 10 in Fort Myers, a night when the Miracle chased him in the fifth inning of an eventual 10-0 shutout. They were back to their old tricks once Jorge Polanco and Niko Goodrum opened the first with a single and a walk. Nate Roberts crashed through the gate with an RBI double into right for a 1-0 before Snell picked up the next two outs. But he couldn't beat Tyler Grimes, who slammed a two-run double on an 0-1 pitch to start the rout and make it 3-0.

After striking out a pair in a perfect second, Snell reached the end of the line in the third once Goodrum led off with a single and stole second. A single back into center by Roberts made it 4-0 before Snell got Travis Harrison to lift a flyball to center for the first out. A passed ball, a walk to Dalton Hicks, and a pitch that hit Grimes loaded the bases for Max Kepler. He singled home a run with a hard single into right field that was bobbled by Marty Gantt for a monumental error, allowing two more runs to score to give the Miracle a 7-0 lead. Snell was then lifted for Casey Weathers, who surrendered an RBI double to Jairo Rodriguez before walking Aderling Mejia. A wild pitch advanced the runners to scoring position, allowing Polanco to lift a sacrifice fly to left foe the final run of the inning and a 9-0 score.

Gantt led off the third with a triple to right center off the talented Jose Berrios. He would strike out Josh Sale before Julian Ridings brought the Stone Crabs only run in with a triple of his own down into the left field corner. Tyler Goeddel's popout sent Tommy Coyle to the plate, but he struck out looking on an 0-2 pitch to keep it at 9-1. A leadoff double by Roberts in the fourth and a groundout by Harrison sent up Hicks, whose scoring flyball to center put the Miracle back in front by nine runs. The final two runs scored in the fifth after Marcus Jensen inherited first and second with one out before a passed ball pushed the runners into scoring position. Jensen's otherwise flawless evening was scarred by Goodrum's two-run single which put the Miracle ahead for good 12-1.

NOTES: Berrios (8-2) is now tied for the league lead with eight winsthe Stone Crabs (31-41) have now lost seven straight for the first time all season and 11 of their last 12, while going 5-14 in JuneSnell (1-4) has lost three straight starts after allowing eight earned runs on six hits in 2.1 inningsJensen's ERA dropped to 2.93 after tossing 4.1 scoreless inningshe gave up four hits, but retired 13 in a row after a double by Roberts in the fifthRoberts finished 4-for-5 with three doubles, two runs batted in, and two runs scored in just his third game with the MiracleCoyle went 2-for-5 with a pair of singlesGantt and Ridings added singles in the seventhRidings finished with two hits for the fifth time in his first 15 gamesthe Stone Crabs finished 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on basethey struck out 12 times.

The homestand wraps up on Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM when Austin Pruitt (3-4, 4.35 ERA) looks to end the madness against D.J. Baxendale (1-1, 3.94 ERA). It's $2 Tuesday, which means all fans can get a reserved seat for just $2! Fans can also get 12 oz. domestic drafts and sodas for only $2 until the end of the 5th inning. There are still great seats available, so visit www.stonecrabsbaseball.com or call 941-206-HITS (4487) to order your tickets now!

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Florida State League Stories from June 23, 2014


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