FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Mets Defense Opens Door to 9-5 'Crabs Win

Published on May 6, 2014 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


PORT CHARLOTTE, FL (May 6, 2014) - It's amazing how emotions and feelings can change with just one game. Following a pair of lopsided losses to the Mets, the Stone Crabs hard work in sweeping the Hammerheads seemed all for naught as they prepared to avoid a sweep of their own in a Tuesday morning showdown. Once Steven Matz left the game with a 3-2 lead in the sixth, the offense capitalized on the St. Lucie bullpen and took advantage of four errors to pull away with a 9-5 win in front of 1,118 at Charlotte Sports Park.

In a rematch of last Wednesday night's game at Tradition Field, Austin Pruitt countered Matz in search of his third consecutive victory. The Stone Crabs gave the Texan an early lead in the first following a leadoff double and a stolen base by Andrew Toles. Hector Guevara continued his resurgence at the plate with a sacrifice fly to right for a 1-0 advantage.

The Mets weren't held down for long after a leadoff double in the second by center fielder Gilbert Gomez put the tying run in scoring position. Two outs later, Philip Evans lined the first pitch of the at bat for a game-tying single. The teams exchanged runs once again in the third once Jairo Perez blasted a solo home run to left to give the Mets their first lead at 2-1. However, Charlotte answered in the bottom of the inning after a pair of one out singled by Guevara and Leonardo Reginatto. After a walk in the second inning, Tyler Goeddel tied the score at two with a bloop single down the right field line.

Pruitt made one more mistake in the fifth and left a pitch up in the zone for Maikis De La Cruz to crush over the left field wall for a 3-2 Mets lead. Trailing by a run in the sixth, an infield single by Jonathan Quionez came before Jake Kuebler plunked Marty Gantt to place runners at first and second. Toles' RBI single tied the game at three and with Gantt at third, Guevara dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to bring home the go-ahead run.

Once the Mets tied the score at four in the seventh, the Stone Crabs went back to work against Kuebler. A leadoff single by Maxx Tissenbaum brought up Goeddel, who rolled a grounder to Perez. The third baseman tried starting a double play, but his throw to second base was dropped by Evans for a crucial error. A one out walk to Jake DePew loaded the bases for Quionez, who rolled a grounder behind the second base bag. Shortstop Dilson Herrera dove up the middle and flipped it to Evans at second for the force out, but Evans' throw to first skipped to the wall near the dugout and both Tissenbaum and Goeddel scored to make it 6-4.

Facing Julian Hilario in the eighth, Toles opened the inning with his second double. After stealing third, Reginatto brought him in with an RBI single. Two batters later, Goeddel skied an extra-base hit to the right field corner. The relay back in to the infield was bobbled in shallow right, and Goeddel ran through Jared Sandberg's stop sign for an inside-the-park-home run which gave the Stone Crabs their final runs of the afternoon. They'd hang on to win 9-5, getting them back to the .500 mark at 17-17 after a 4-2 homestand.

NOTES: Jose Molina (3-1) took over the team lead with three wins after winning his third straight relief appearanceMarcus Jensen earned his third save in four opportunities after picking up the final out in the eighth and all three in the ninthGoeddel drove in three runs and now has 23, placing him fourth in the leaguethe home run was his thirdToles finished 3-for-5 and now has eight RBIs over his last 12 games and 14 runs scored over his last 17he stole two bases for the fourth time this season as the Stone Crabs stole a season-high four without being caughtGuevara brought in his second and third runs of the seasonDePew walked three times in five plate appearancesQuionez had his first multi-hit game.

The Stone Crabs open up a four-game series with the Bradenton Marauders on Wednesday night 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! The series reverts back to Charlotte Sports Park on Thursday and Friday night with both games starting at 6:30 PM. 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 May 6, 2014


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