Savannah Sand Gnats Game Notes

Published on June 18, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Tonight: The First-Half Champion Gnats, who have lost two games in a row, play their second to-last game of the first half in Greenville, against the second-place Drive.

Last Night: The Drive scored runs in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings on their way to a 5-0 win over the Gnats..

Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser is scheduled to make his tenth Savannah start tonight. Fraser is fifth in the SAL with a 2.96 ERA. His 40 strikeouts are eighth among the top ten pitchers in ERA in the League. Fraser shut out Rome through six innings in his last start. Overall, he has not allowed a run in his last 10.2 innings of pitching and has nine strikeouts and just one walk in that time. Fraser pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for short-season Brooklyn in 2010. With the Cyclones, he was 3-3 with a 1.44 ERA and 12 saves in 31.1 IP. He struck out 39, walked 20 and yielded just 16 hits. In ratio form, that's 4.6 H/9 IP, 5.7 BB/9 and 11.2 K/9. The Mets drafted Fraser in the 16th round of the 2010 draft out of Memphis. The Rays originally drafted Fraser out of Walker Valley HS in the 49th round in 2006, but he chose to attend Gulf Coast Community College and then Memphis. At Memphis, he led the Tigers with 93 strikeouts and 92 IP in 2010 on his way to three C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors and a Second Team All C-USA selection. In the classroom, he was a member of the C-USA All-Academic Team in 2010 and ran a 4.0 grade point average in high school. The Gnats are 4-5 when Fraser starts, and have supported him with 2.56 runs per game (23 runs/8 games), the lowest mark of any Savannah starter.

Terrific Tovar: Wilfredo Tovar has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games going 23-55 (.418) with four doubles, a triple, three walks, three strikeouts and four RBI in that span.

Cup of Joe: 1B/OF Joe Bonfe enjoyed his first three-hit game of the year last night. After hitting .212/.281/.231 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in 15 games from Opening Day through May 31, Bonfe is up to .278/.350/.389 in his five June games.

The Return of Roster Churn: After going without a roster move for 16 days, the Gnats have made seven moves in the last three days since clinching the first half title. Jet Butler made his first start as a Gnat in 2011 last night, going 0-3 as a second baseman.

All-Star Update: Cory Vaughn, who was named to the SAL All-Star team as a reserve outfielder was named the Southern Division's starting centerfielder Friday, because Charleston's Slade Heathcott will not play in the game due to injury. Robbie Shields and Josh Edgin, who were both named to the SAL All-Star game will not play because both were promoted to advanced-a St. Lucie on Wednesday.

Missed Opportunities: The Gnats left 13 men on base last night, a new team-high for a nine-inning game this year as the team went 2-10 with runners in scoring position.

Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL's best ERA (3.11), 53 hundredths of a run better than second-place Lakewood (3.64). The Gnats have the best WHIP (1.22) and have allowed the second-fewest hits (532) in the League.

Vs. Greenville: The Gnats are 6-4 against the Drive this year, 6-2 at home and 0-2 on the road. After this weekend, Gnats and Drive next play each other during consecutive weekends in August.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from June 18, 2011


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