FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

White (And Blue) Christmas in July

July 23, 2016 - Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - It was Christmas in July at Charlotte Sports Park, and Stone Crabs fans had plenty to be thankful for under the tree.

The Stone Crabs gift-wrapped two victories for the Port Charlotte faithful, a walk-off 5-4 win in Game 1 and a nail-biting 3-2 triumph in Game 2 over the Brevard County Manatees on Saturday night.

Charlotte gave up first-inning runs to the Manatees in both games, but countered successfully both times. In Game 1, Mac James hit a fly to deep right that Clint Coulter never read and ended up dropping, scoring Jake Cronenworth to tie the game 1-1. Game 2 was even better, as a Joe McCarthy sac fly tied the game and Grant Kay rapped an RBI single to give the Stone Crabs a 2-1 lead.

The games diverged from there. Brevard County took a lead in the opener in the top of the second, as George Iskenderian and Fidel Pena hit back-to-back singles to lead off the frame against Chris Pike. Iskenderian came in to score on a double play groundball from Blake Allemand.

Charlotte got the run back in the fourth. James and Alec Sole each singled with one out in the inning, putting runners on the corners for Riley Unroe, who grounded to the pitcher and scored James to tie the game.

Things got really interesting late. With Kay aboard first and no outs in the sixth, McCarthy launched a two-run shot into the Stone Crabs bullpen, putting Charlotte ahead for the first time at 4-2. But in the top half of the seventh, Allemand tied the game 4-4 with a two-run home run of his own against Diego Castillo (2-0), setting us up for extra innings.

The Stone Crabs had other plans. Jace Conrad led off the bottom of the seventh against Kender Villegas (5-6) with a single, went to second on a bunt, and stole third. Thomas Milone walked up and drove a flyball to deep right, scoring Conrad and sending the Stone Crabs back to the clubhouse with a walk-off win. Game 2's early lead managed to hold up the rest of the way. The Stone Crabs cashed in an insurance run without a hit in the third, as Sole and McCarthy drew back-to-back walks against Eric Hanhold (2-12), Kay bunted them to third, and Unroe grounded to second to score Sole and make it 3-1 Charlotte.

That lead would be tested throughout, but held up thanks to a brilliant outing from Benton Moss (5-7). The 6th round pick from North Carolina allowed a fourth-inning home run to Iskenderian but held firm otherwise, departing the game in the seventh at 99 pitches with two on and one out. Brad Schreiber entered and promptly struck out Malik Colleymore and Corey Ray, the latter of whom was the MLB Draft's No. 5 overall pick this past June, handing the Stone Crabs a doubleheader sweep.

The victory marked the sixth straight in doubleheader action for the Stone Crabs, who went 1-6 in their first seven twin bill games. Every doubleheader the Stone Crabs have played in 2016 has happened at home.

Charlotte and Brevard County finish their series on Sunday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park. LHP Steve Ascher (0-0, 0.00) makes his first start of the year for the Stone Crabs against 19 year-old Manatees RHP Marcos Diplan (0-0, 8.44). First pitch is scheduled for 12:35. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

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Florida State League Stories from July 23, 2016


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