Sports stats



FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Lopez Leads 'Crabs to Third Straight Win

July 24, 2014 - Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


DUNEDIN, FL - Upon losing the first two games of their season-long eight game roadtrip, the Stone Crabs were backing themselves into a tight corner from the outset. However, wins in the final two games against Clearwater, including a 10-6 victory on Wednesday after trailing 4-0, sent them to Dunedin for four more. The North Division champs in the first half had an easy time with them in three games at Charlotte Sports Park late in May, outscoring them by a margin of 19-3. This time, however, Reinaldo Lopez stole the show from Jays prospect Sean Nolin, who allowed a two-run single to Leonardo Reginatto in the fifth that stood up in a 2-1 victory at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

One out singles by Kevin Patterson and catcher Santiago Nessy in the home second brought up shortstop Peter Mooney. His liner to short was stabbed by Reginatto, who ran back to touch up second for the inning-ending double play. Still scoreless in the fourth, Dwight Smith Jr. continued his incredible month with his seventh triple to open the inning against Lopez. Marcus Knecht then knocked him in with a single, and in a span of just two pitches, Dunedin had a 1-0 lead. Mooney eventually came up with runners at first and second yet again, this time grounding into a 6-4-3 double play to retire the side.

When Nolin started the fifth with a strikeout of Ariel Soriano, it marked the ninth consecutive batter he had retired going back to the end of the second. The lefthander then proceeded to walk eight and nine hitters Marty Gantt and Granden Goetzman, which proved to be costly. A wild pitch advanced them into scoring position, and a strikeout of Johnny Field brought up Reginatto, whose two-run single up the middle gave the Stone Crabs a 2-1 lead.

Emilio Guerrero opened the Blue Jays sixth with a grounder to Goeddel at third, but the throw pulled Leonard off first base. Smith then chopped the next pitch back to Lopez, who started a 1-6-3 double play to clear the bases. With two outs in the seventh, Gustavo Pierre rocked a double to put the tying run in scoring position. Soriano snuck over from second for a pickoff attempt, but Lopez threw it into center field to set up a matchup with Christian Lopes. This time, a chopper to Goeddel was handled cleanly for the final out.

Pitching into the eighth for the first time all season, Lopez watched Guerrero go first to third on a two out single by Knecht. But Jose Molina, who had been warming up in the bullpen for quite some time, came in and got Patterson to line out to Gantt in left for the final out. Leonard had led off the top of the eighth with a double to finish with his third straight two-hit game, but the middle of the order could not bring in the insurance run. With three outs remaining, Molina retired Nessy and Mooney, but his night came to an end once Zach Cooper was called upon for the final out. He worked ahead of Pierre 1-2 before a final grounder to Goeddel at third ended the ballgame and gave the Stone Crabs their third straight victory.

The series continues on Friday night when the Stone Crabs and Blue Jays reconvene in Dunedin at 6:30 PM. You can follow all the action by listening to the game on www.stonecrabsbaseball.com via TuneIn Radio, or tuning into 91.7 FM-WVIJ in the Port Charlotte area. The Stone Crabs Pregame Show starts at 6:10 PM on the Stone Crabs Radio Network!

Check out the Charlotte Stone Crabs Statistics



Florida State League Stories from July 24, 2014


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.

OurSports Central