FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Stone Crabs Waste Another Lead in Ninth

Published on July 2, 2014 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - With each crushing blow, the Stone Crabs season has slipped further and further away. Losses will rack up during the course of a 140-game schedule, but certain ones will hurt more than others. Tuesday night's was bad enough with the Mets coming back from 4-1 down in the eighth to win the opener 6-4. And it only got worse on Wednesday night, with the Stone Crabs losing two leads, only to watch the Mets score two in the ninth to win again by a final of 7-6.

The problems have not begun until later in ballgames, because lately, the Stone Crabs seem inspired early on. For the second straight night, they struck first in the second when Josh Sale tagged Matt Koch's 1-2 offering for his third home run and a 1-0 advantage. Later, a two out single by Julian Ridings was just the start before Koch balked him to second and unloaded a wild pitch which got the center fielder to third. Tommy Coyle's double to the right field fence made it 2-0 before Leonardo Reginatto delivered a run scoring single for a 3-0 lead.

Leonel Santiago's last start against the Cardinals was greatly aided by seven Stone Crabs runs in the first inning. Back for the third inning against the Mets, the recently improved righthander walked Jeff McNeil on four straight pitches. Eudy Pina then lifted a high popup right in front of the plate, but neither Santiago, catcher Maxx Tissenbaum, nor first baseman Patrick Leonard could get a glove on it. Another walk to Gilbert Gomez loaded the bases for L.J. Mazzilli, who promptly delivered a double to score a pair and make it 3-2. Following two flyouts, Gavin Cecchini rocketed a hard single off Tyler Goeddel's mitt at third for a two-run single to give the Mets a 4-3 lead. It marked the final hitter Santiago faced in one of his shortest starts of the season. They'd add another run off Kevin Brandt in the fourth following a pair of walks, a Gomez single, and a wild pitch.

Charlotte's resolve returned in the fifth when Reginatto and Patrick Leonard started things off with a pair of singles to put the tying runs on base. Koch's first pitch to Tissenbaum was blasted out to left center, where Gomez missed on a leaping attempt to make the catch. Both runs scored to tie the game at five, but Tissenbaum was thrown out at third on a very close play for the first out.

A one out single by Coyle in the sixth off Julian Hilario led to a 10-pitch showdown with Reginatto, who sent a soft grounder back to the mound which got Coyle to second. After delivering a tie-breaking triple just a night earlier, Leonard delivered again with an RBI single to score Coyle and give him his team-leading 37th run batted in. Again, the Stone Crabs had pushed all the right buttons early, but that all ended in the ninth with the Mets down to their final three outs.

Casey Weathers' bid for his first save was dashed by a leadoff single from Pina on an 0-2 pitch. Gomez then mashed a double high off the left field fence to put runners at second and third and the Mets down 6-5. A wild pitch allowed Pina to score the tying run before Mazzilli grounded out to short for the first out. Cam Maron was the next hitter, but a Weathers fastball hit off the mitt of Tissenbaum, and the passed ball brought in Gomez from third to give the Mets the lead at 7-6. T.J. Chism then picked up his first save with a perfect bottom of the ninth, striking out Sale to end the game in exactly three and a half hours.

The final game of the series is Thursday night at Charlotte Sports Park at 6:30 PM. Fans, make sure you get your tickets for our biggest postgame Fireworks Show of the year and come celebrate Independence Day with us! We'll be giving away glow sticks, hosting a wing-eating contest presented by Cluck-U Chicken, and auctioning off special Independence Day gameworn hats. There will also be carnival games, face painting, and a bounce house. It's our biggest night of the year at Charlotte Sports Park, 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 July 2, 2014


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