Mejia's double lifts O's over Twins

GCL Twins 4 at GCL Orioles 5

W: M. Moore (1-0, 0.00); L: A. Lobanov (2-1, 3.65); SV: J. Reyes (1)
HR: None.

The GCL Orioles rallied past the GCL Twins at Twin Lakes Park to pick up a 5-4 win Sunday afternoon. The double header scheduled for Sunday was rescheduled to the July 25, 2008 to prevent the Twins from playing back-to-back double headers on Sunday and Monday.

The Twins got on the board first with Aaron Hicks taking a walk, then stealing 2nd. He'd advance to 3rd on a throwing error by O's catcher Dashenko Ricardo. Danny Ortiz hit into a ground out that plated Hicks.

Miguel Munoz took the start for the Twins and would not give up a hit until the 3rd inning, when he allowed a single to Francisco Mejia.

The top of the fifth saw Danny Rohlfing double and Anderson Hidalgo walk. Jakub Hajtmar ground out, advancing the pair. Herbert Lara's single to right brought them in, helped in part by a fielding error charged to Justin Martin.

Ricardo would take a single of Munoz in the bottom of the stanza then move to 2nd on Jose Kianes ground out. Following a fly out to Martin, Michael Gioioso doubled to plate Ricardo and a second double, to Mejia would bring in Gioioso before Javier Santana flew out to end the inning.

Andres Diaz doubled with one out on the board in the top of the sixth. Rohlfing singled to advance him to 3rd and a Hidalgo line drive plated him for the Twins' fourth run.

Munoz would finish up allowing 2 runs on 4 hits while fanning 4 over six innings worth of work. Andrei Lovanov would replace him in the 7th.

The Russian reliever would get Richardo out on strikes before Kianes drew a walk. Martin and Gioioso hit back-to-back singles, scoring Kianes, cutting the Twins lead to one run. Mejia then doubled to plate the two runners, putting the O's on top.

The Twins would load the bases in the top of the 9th before the O's got Jean Carlos Reyes in to stop them. Reyes would get Mike Gonzales out on strikes and Diaz to hit into a fly out to end the game.

Rohlfing and Hidalgo were both 2-for-3, each with a double and a run, Hidalgo with a walk and a RBI as well. Lara was 2-for-4 with a RBI. Diaz, in the designed hitter role, was 1-for-5 with a double and a run while Landedorf was the game's one hit wonder, finishing up 1-for-4 at the plate.

That was one more hit than Hicks got as 0-for-3 at the plate, but he walked twice and also had a run for the Twins.

The Twins return home to Lee County Sportsplex on Monday to take on the GCL Reds in a double header. Game time is 11:00 AM.

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Twins rally past Pirates, 2-1

GCL Pirates 1 at GCL Twins 2

W: K. Nanney (1-0, 0.00); L: N. Pereira (1-1, 1.29); SV: K. Mota (6)
HR: PIR: J. Cunningham (3).

Saturday's match up at the Lee County Sports between the GCL Twins and the GCL Pirates featured a pitching duel of the highest quality as free agent Edgar Iberra took on the Pirates 35th round draft pick Tyler Cox.

The festivities got off with a bang when Jarek Cunningham launched one over the left field fence for the Pirates. Cunningham, the Pirates 18th round pick, as been hot of late and would finish up 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk to go along with the run and the RBI.

Ibera would scatter four hits and a walk over five innings while striking out five to keep things quiet. Cox was even better, giving up only two hits while fanning 5 over five inngs. He'd be replaced by Nelson Pereira in the sixth and the El Salvador reliever held the Twins to a pair of singles in the sixth and the seventh innings.

Mauro Schiavoni replaced Iberra in the top of the sixth and Cunningham took a single off him to lead off. Alex Vargas singled as well, and Victor Sanchez's sac-bunt advanced the pair. Edward Garcia would reach on a fielder's choice as Javier Brown fired the ball back to catcher Josmil Pinto who tagged Cunningham out at the plate to steal a run from the Pirates. Garcia would steal second, putting two men in scoring position, but Schiavoni got Andury Acevedo to strike out swinging, ending the threat.

The top of the 7th saw Edwin Roman single and steal 2nd, but Schiavoni took Adenson Chourio and Benjamin Gonzalez down on strikes to knock out the Pirates again.

Khol Nanney would pitch the eighth inning, walking Cunningham, but getting the other three batters he faced to ground out.

Twins 2nd baseman Hyun-wook Choi would reach on a throwing error by Chourio and Pinto took a walk. Juan Sanchez's sac bunt advanced the pair and Choi scored on Jon Goncalves ground out to tie up the game. Aaron Hicks then hit a contested single which plated Pinto. The Pirates wished to argue that Hicks was out, while the umpire ruled him safe. After Pirates field manager Tom Prince got done arguing the call with the umpire - to no avail I might add, Hicks would steal 2nd base. Danny Oritz flew out to end the inning.

Kelvin Mota would come in for the ninth to close out the game, going three up-three down to give the Twins the win.

Hicks was 2-for-4 in the contest with a RBI. Goncalves was 1-for-4 with a RBI but he sure looked safe on that ground out the ump called in the eighth. (And did we see Jake Mauer come flying out of the dugout to argue the call? Nooooo....)

Choi was 1-for3 with a run and Pinto was 0-for-2 with a walk and a run.

There was some discussion as to where and when Sunday's game against the Orioles was to be played, as Twin Lakes Park had been flooded after the torrential rains earlier in the week. The O's only have four groundskeepers on their payroll - Sarasota does not pay to maintain the Buck O'Neill Complex - to handle all of the grounds and it's big chore. If the Red Sox are serious about moving to Sara, they should really look at how well the Reds and the Orioles facilities have been maintained, because new complex or not, that's what their park will look like in a few years.

For the record, the Orioles are exploring a move to Vero Beach and renovations to the Dodgertown Complex including building a baseball academy on the site, but that will not happen until 2010 at the earliest.

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Pirate Gallery Part I
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DSL Twins 6 at DSL Orioles 1

W: P. Guerra (5-1, 2.32); L: W. Princivil (0-6, 7.11)
HR: None.

Pedro Guerra (no relation to Deolis) limited the DSL Orioles to one run on 3 hits while fanning 8 over seven innings as the DSL Twins thoroughly dominated the O's Saturday.

With one out on the board, Felix Caro would be hit by a pitch in the top of the 2nd inning. Lesther Galvin then walked and Randy Pina singled to load the bags. Xavier Gonzalez would be hit by a pitch as well to force in Caro and Juan Blanco drew a walk to bring Galvan over the plate. Yorby Martinez hit a sac-fly to right to bring in Pina, giving the Twins a 3 run lead. Oswaldo Arcia ground out to send the Twins back on the defense.

The top of the 3rd saw Jairo Perez lead off with walk and a wild pitch by O's starter William Princivil moved him to 2nd. Jairo Rodriguez ground out, moving Perez to 3rd. Caro singled to drive him in to give the Twins four. Caro would steal 2nd and advance to 3rd on a throwing error by David Calderon, but Galvan went down on strikes and Pina flew out to retire the side.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Larry Rivera doubled for the Orioles and came home on Moises Ciriaco's line drive single break up the shut out. Calderon would line into a double play to end the inning.

Galvan doubled in the top of the sixth, but was able to go no where with it, being stranded as Pina struck out and Gonzalez and Blanco both flew out.

The top of the seventh was a little more advantageous as Yorby Martinez walked, then stoled 2nd. Oswaldo Arcia took a walk and following a pitching change that brought reliever Humberto Hodge to he mound for the O's, Perez would ground out to advance the pair of runners. Rodriguez's line drive to right brought them in to add two more to the Twins total.

Galvan (1-for-3) had the only double while Rodgriguez and Caro were both 1-for-4, Rodriguez with a pair of RBIs and Caro with a run and a run scored. Pina finished up 1-for-3 with a run. Not much in the way of hitting, but 8 walks, two by Arcia, made the difference for the Twins.

The DSL rests on Sunday and returns to action on Monday with the Twins hosting the DSL White Sox for a 10:30 AM Dominican Time game.

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Hirschfeld, Revere lead Snappers against T-Rattlers

Wisconsin 2 at Beloit 7

W: S. Hirschfeld (6-2, 2.64); L: K. Meyer (0-3, 4.79)
HR: None.

Steve Hirschfeld scattered four hits and a walk over 7 innings and struck out 8, holding the visiting Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to only one run, to lead the Beloit Snappers to a 7-2 win.

Daniel Carroll singled of Hirschfeld and stole 2nd to open up the game. Edilio Colina moved him on a sac-bunt and one out later Ronald Garth singled to plate him. A fielding error by Ben Revere put Garth to on 2nd, and Joseph Dunigan took a walk, but Hirschfeld got Juan Diaz to fly out to center to retire the T-Rattlers.

The bottom of the third saw Andrew Schmiesing single, then move to 2nd on Estarlin De Los Santos sac bunt. Chris Cates would be called out on strikes, but a Ben Revere single saw Schmiesing score to tie up the game.

Keith Meyer would replace Brett Lorin in the bottom of the sixth for Wisconsin and the Snappers took advantage of the pitching change. Ben Revere and Juan Richardson lead off with back-to-back singles. Mark Dolenc would then get plunked by a pitch to load up the bags. A Jeanfred Brito single scored Revere before Greg Yersich went down on strikes. Allan de San Miguel got hit by a pitch to load up the bags again. The Timber Rattlers got Natividad Dilone out of the bullpen to get the out of the jam, but he'd walk Schmiesing to force in a run before getting De Lo to ground into a double play.

In the bottom of the 7th, Chris Cates would single, moved to second on Revere's sac bunt and to 3rd on balk. Juan Richardson then sacrificed him in to add another run to the Snappers total, for a 5-1 advantage.

Brito and Yersch opened up the bottom of the 8th with back-to-back walks while Dilone walked back to the dugout and Jeff Dunbar took his place on the mound. Dirty's sac-bunt advanced the runners and a sac-fly by Schmiesing brought in Brito. De Lo then singled to plate Yersich to end Beloit's offense for the game.

Danny Hernandez worked one inning of relief, walking 2 and striking out 2. He'd be replaced by Charles Nolte at the top of the 9th. Notle would hit Garth with a pitch, and Alex Meneses came into run for the T-Rattlers designated hitter. A Dunigan single and a Diaz ground out plated Meneses for a brief T-Rattlers rally. Notle then got Alex Liddi and Isreal Nunez to ground out, ending the contest.

Revere and Brito finished up 2-for-3 with a run and run scored each. Richardson, Dolence and Yersich were all 1-for-3 with a run, Richardson with a RBI and Dolenc with a walk. Schmiesing was 1-for-2 with a walk, a run and 2 RBIs, and De Lo finished up 1-for-4 with a run scored. Cates was 1-for-5 with a run.

Game two of the series is Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM. Mike Tarsi (4-9, 5.50) will throw out the first pitch while the T-Rattlers will throw Jake Wild (3-6, 4.45) at the Snappers.

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Beloit remains in the hunt for a second half playoff berth. They have a 17-11 record and are 1.5 games behind division leading Peoria and 2 games ahead of Cedar Rapids. Revere continues to lead the team batting wise, followed by Rene Leveret.

Mother Nature claims two

Fort Myers at Daytona - canceled

Saturdays doubleheader between the Fort Myers Miracle and the Daytona Cubs as been canceled due to wet grounds and unplayable field conditions.

Because the two teams do not meet again this season, they will not be made up.

The Miracle return home to face the St. Lucie Mets, and will (hopefully) leave the rain in Daytona.

Invest 94 remains just to the south of Cuba, packing 40 MPH winds and drawing most of the rain to it. It is moving west, toward Panama, at 17 miles per hour.

Sunday is 70's night at the Bill as well as Cape Coral Breeze night. Tampa Bay running back Earnest Graham, a Cape Coral-Mariner High School graduate, will take batting practice and sign autographs before the Fort Myers Miracle's game at Hammond Stadium on Sunday.

The Fort Myers native is making an appearance at Hammond Stadium, on behalf of his non-profit organization Earnest Giving. Earnest Giving, which in part supports Big Brothers, Big Sisters, was founded in 2007 with a commitment to assisting young people achieve their goals and grow into productive adults.

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News Press: Juan Portes
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News Press: Earnest Graham
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The Fort Myers Miracle will hold a baseball camp for ages 9-12 from July 21-23. Kids will learn fundamentals from Miracle players and coaches. Information: Justin Stecz 768-4210 or jstecz@miraclebaseball.com



New Britain 3 at New Hampshire 6

W: B. Magee (3-11, 5.11); L: K. Aselton (4-4, 4.31); SV: Z. Dials (14)
HR: NBR: B. Peterson (11), F. Molina (1). NHM: S. Campbell (6), D. Smith (5).

A 3-run eighth inning put the game between the New Britain Rock Cats and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats out of reach for the Rock Cats. Kyle Aselton took his 4th loss of the season.

Aselton walked Scott Campbell in the bottom of the 1st, then gave up a home run to David Smith, his fifth of the season, that went over the right field wall.

New Britain answered back with Felix Molina doubling, then coming home on a Drew Butera single. It would be all the Rock Cats could get off New Hampshire's Brandon Magee, who went on to work 7 innings, scattering 4 hits and a pair of walks while fanning 7.

Aselton's outing wasn't bad, but it could have been better. The lefty allowed a pair of doubles, one to Ryan Klosterman, the other to J.P. Arecibia in the bottom of the 5th to make it 3-1 Fisher Cats.

He would be replaced by Ryan Mullins, who worked the final three innings.

Erik Niesen singled in the bottom of the 8th, After Ryan Patterson lined out, Mullins would hit Brian Jeroloman with a pitch. Mullins then unleashed a wild pitch that moved the pair. Jonathan Diaz would go down on strikes before Scott Campbell put his sixth home run of the season over the right field wall to make it 6-1 in favor of New Hampshire.

Brock Peterson and Felix Molina hit back-to-back home runs off Orlando Roman in the bottom of the 9th, but it wouldn't be enough for New Britain to catch the Fishers.

Dustin Martin was 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and a double, but did not factor in to the scoring. Toby Gardenhire was the 1 hit wonder, going 1-for-4 at the plate.

The two teams finish up the 4-games series Sunday at 1:05 P.M. The Rock Cats return to New Britain Stadium on Monday to host the Reading Phillies for a four game set.

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Courant: G-Drive

Pulaski, Elizabethton split two

Friday: Pulaski 0 at Elizabethton 9

W: B. Lanigan (2-1, 2.74); L: T. Lewis (0-1, 9.72)
HR: ELI: E. Bigley (4), D. De La Osa (2).

Bobby Lanigan scattered 3 hits over 7 innings while fanning 8 as the Elizabethton Twins blanked the Pulaski Mariners, 9-0.

The Twins offense got off to a quick start in the bottom of the first, with Dominic De La Osa going yard right out of the gate. Nick Romero would go down on strikes before Jon Waltenbury took a walk. Michael Harrington then singled and Evan Bigley doubled to drive in Waltenbury. A wild pitch by Pulaski starter Taylor Lewis scored Harrington while Bigley scored on Juan Richardson's ground out.

The hits kept coming in the second as Angel Morales singled. James Beresford would hit into a force out however that took Morales down at 2nd. De La Osa and Romero both walked to load the bags. Waltenbury would go down on strikes before Harrington singled to drive in two of the three runners.

Jose Rios replaced Lewis at the top of the 3rd, and managed to keep the E-Twins quiet until the bottom of the 5th when Bigley put his fourth of the year over the right field wall. Juan Richardson and Danny Rams then hit back-to-back doubles to add another run to the total. Angel Morales was plunked by a pitch and a wild pitch off Rios advanced the pair of runners. Beresford went down on strikes before a fielding error by Gabriel Noriega allowed De La Osa to reach and Rams to score. Pulaski would turn to Brent Gaphardt to get the last out, and he got Romero to ground out to second.

Morales was 2-for-3 with a double in the game, while Harrington and Bigley were both 2-for-4, Harrington with one run and two RBIs, Bigley with a pair of runs and and matching RBIs. Richardson, Rams and Dea La Osa were 1-for-4 with De La Osa getting a walk, 2 runs and a RBI, while Richardson and Rams had a run and an a RBI each.

Kyle Carr and Mark Hamburger finished off the contest, working an inning each.

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Saturday: Pulaski 15 at Elizabethton 3

W: F. Williamson (2-2, 5.57); L: B. Tippett (5-2, 2.53)
HR: PUL: K. Sams 2 (10), D. Benitez (1). ELI: N. Romero (4).

The Pulaski Mariners abused Aussie starter Brad Tippett and pounded out a total of 15 runs on 16 hits as they romped over the Elizabethton Twins on Saturday night.

Dominic De La Osa singled, then stole 2nd, coming home on Nick Romero's double to put the Twins on the board in the bottom of the first. Pulaski answered back with Kalian Sams hitting his 9th home run of the season over the right field fence to tie up the game.

The top of the 3rd saw Tommy Johnson double. Gabriel Noriega lined out and Deybis Benitez ground out before Jacob Shaffer reached on a throwing error by Romero which also scored Johnson. Shaffer then stole 2nd and scored on a second throwing error by Romero.

Romero sort of made up for the errors in the bottom of the stanza when he went yard over the left center field fence, but that was only one run and he'd allowed a pair.

The top of the 4th saw Sams going yard again, this time over the center field wall.

Despite being well hit at this point, Tippett stayed in for the 5th. Benitez homered off the Aussie, his first of the year. Shaffer was called out on strikes before Mario Martinez singled. Juan Fuentes doubled and a wild pitch by Tippett brought in Martinez. Jose Rivero would sacrifice in Fuentes before Thom Wright came to get the final out.

That did not seem to work as well as one might hope however, as Guy Welch came back in the top of the six the a double. Tommy Johnson singled and Noriega walked to load up the bags. A single by Benitez scored Welch and Wright would walk Shaffer to force in Johnson. Martiez singled to bring in Noriega. Nathan Fritz came into replace Wright, but Fuentos would sacrifice in Benitez and Rivero would do the same with Shaffer. A wild pitch by Fritz scored Martinez before Sams would get called on strikes to retire Pulaski.

Welsh singled in the top of the 7th and Johnson doubled. Noriega ground out which served to plate Welsh and a double by Benitez brought in Johnson.

The Twins would get lucky in the bottom of the 8th with Romero taking a walk. After Bigley was called out on strikes, reliever Tommy Johannesen-Ellis unleashed a piar of wild pitches, and a throwing error by Johnson behind the plate allowed Romero to score.

The E-Twins were limited to only five hits, with Romero (2-for-4) getting two of them as well as a pair of runs and matching RBIs. De La Osa (1-for-5), Rams (1-for-4) and Morales (1-for-1) had the other 3 hits, De La Osa with a run, Rams with a triple and Morales with 3 walks.

Elizabethton says goodbye to Pulaski and heads over to neighboring Johnson City to face the Cardinals. The E-Twins continue to lead the West Division with a 19-10 record, 3.5 games ahead of Bristol. Pulaski leads the East Division with a 21-10 record, 3.5 games head of Danville.

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This just showed up on a Google Alert. The event was July 10th, but I found it amusing:
Agio Blog