FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Miracle Too Much for Stone Crabs

Published on April 14, 2014 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


PORT CHARLOTTE, FL (April 14, 2014) - At first glance, it appeared as if the Stone Crabs had a gain on the momentum entering their three game series with the Miracle, losers of three straight. After all, Charlotte had prevailed in a battle of wits just a day earlier in a 14-inning thriller against the Cardinals for their first series victory. But the Miracle bats erupted once again, and Alex Wimmers brought back memories of his days at Ohio State with six scoreless innings in which he allowed just one baserunner in a 7-3 win.

Leonel Santiago's night started interestingly on the mound after he loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first. If there was any sort of omen, it seemed positive after he struck out Adam Brett Walker and Mike Gonzales before getting Stuart Turner to ground out with no runs across. Sadly, Charlotte's best opportunity came and went in the bottom of the first after Tommy Coyle's leadoff double down the left field line. Wimmers then balked him to third, only to start his stretch of 18 straight set down by retiring the next three hitters, including a pair of strikeouts.

Fort Myers loaded them up once again with one out in the second after three straight singles by Travis Harrison, Niko Goodrum, and second baseman Levi Michael. After doubling in the first, switch hitting shortstop Jorge Polanco smacked a two run single before Dalton Hicks' RBI double made it 3-0. Michael then made two diving stops off hard grounders by Maxx Tissenbaum and Coyle in the third to keep the shutout intact for Wimmers, a first round pick in 2010.

Michael opened the fourth inning with a leadoff single before Polanco flew out to right for the first out. Hicks made his night at the plate even better with a perfectly placed triple down the right field line to make it 4-0. Santiago later got two quick outs in the fifth before surrendering another single to Harrison and an RBI double to Goodrum, which ended his evening in a 5-0 hole. D.J. Slaton then made his Stone Crabs debut and walked three straight hitters to bring in another run.

Fort Myers put the finishing touches on the rout after a leadoff double by Gonzales in the sixth. Slaton then got two groundball outs before Harrison made it a perfect

4-for-4 with an RBI double for a 7-0 Miracle lead. In the ninth, the Stone Crabs woke up the crowd of 1,556 after first baseman Jonathan Quionez reached on a dropped third strike by the catcher Turner. Coyle's second base hit put a pair of runners on for the first time all evening, which allowed Justin O'Conner to break out a long three run home run over the wall in left. The rally was short-lived, and Matt Tomshaw earned his first save by striking out Leonardo Reginatto and Kes Carter to end the ballgame.

NOTES: Wimmers finished with six strikeouts and allowed just three flyball outs over the course of his 18-batter streakCharlotte's only 1-2-3 inning in the field came in the eighth, when Nicholas Sawyer set down the Miracle in orderSawyer's thrown two scoreless innings in each of his last two appearances, allowing just one walkSlaton was added to the roster just hours earlier after RHP Jeff Ames was moved to the Disabled ListSantiago (0-2) has now allowed nine runs on 17 hits across 9.0 IP in his two starts against the MiracleReginatto, Carter, and Tissenbaum all had hitting streaks of five games or more come to endO'Connor's first home run of the year was the Stone Crabs second, and first since Patrick Leonard's solo shot on April 6 in Bradenton.

The Stone Crabs send RHP Roberto Gomez (0-1, 4.91 ERA) to the hill in the second game of this three-game series against LHP Jason Wheeler (1-0, 1.74 ERA). First pitch on Tuesday night is set for 6:30 PM at Charlotte Sports Park. 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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