Sand Gnats fight back, fall just short, 6-5
Published on May 4, 2007 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Sand Gnats (6-22) clawed their way back into the game in the sixth with the help of an unconventional three-run rally and pulled within a run in the ninth but Rome held on to defeat Savannah, 6-5. Deunte Heath (1-1) picked up the win for Rome while Jonathan Castillo (0-1) took the loss.
Savannah entered the ninth inning down two but put together a rally to make it interesting. Sean McCraw drew a leadoff walk and moved to second when Joe Holden singled up the middle. After Greg Veloz struck out for the first out of the inning, Luis Rivera came through with the clutch single to right field to score McCraw and cut the lead to one. On the play, Joe Holden tried to advance from first to third, but was tagged out for the second out of the inning. With Luis Rivera on first, Daniel Stegall struck out on three pitches to end the game.
The Gnats had to play from behind once again as Concepcion Rodriguez hit the first of his two home runs in the first to give Rome a 3-0 lead. Savannah would answer back in the bottom half with a run of their own but it would stay 3-1 until the sixth.
Rome scored a run in the top of the sixth to make it 4-1, and the Gnats came back to tie it in the bottom half. Hector Pellot started the rally with a double to right field. D.J. Wabick walked and Leivi Ventura hit a double down the right field line to score the first run of the inning. With Wabick on third, Rome would bring in Deunte Heath to try and stop the bleeding.
Heath proceeded to walk Thole to load the bases. He then hit McCraw, and Wabick scored. Suddenly, it was 4-3. With the bases still loaded, Greg Veloz hit a foul pop up to the catcher Phillip Britton. Britton dropped the ball and allowed Veloz a second chance. Veloz then hit another pop fly, this time on the infield. The infield fly rule was called and the ball was not caught by the second baseman Fontaine. Ventura tagged up and scored from third on the play to tie the game at four.
Saturday the Gnats take on the Braves at 7:05 p.m. in Game 2 of the three-game series. The team will celebrate Cinco de Mayo as the first 1,000 fans will received a Cinco de Mayo T-shirt from Rock 106.1. For tickets and a complete schedule, call 912-351-9150 or visit www.sandgnats.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 4, 2007
- Shorebirds defeat Suns 4-3 - Hagerstown Suns
- Sand Gnats fight back, fall just short, 6-5 - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Lakewood Tops Lake County 9-7 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Legends edge Power - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Crawdads Drop Series Opener to Grasshoppers - Hickory Crawdads
- Green Jackets Edge Drive, 4-3 - Greenville Drive
- West Virginia Powerless Against Qualben, Legends - Lexington Legends
- Tyler Flowers Joins Rome - Rome Emperors
- Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell feud to be settled at Suns game - Hagerstown Suns
- Lagares Sent Down, Eigsti Added - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Five-in-Four Next Week at FirstEnergy Park - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- RiverDogs Host Sand Gnats for Four-Game Homestand - Charleston RiverDogs
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