The Wandering Disciple

Sanibel, Florida: Thousands of native and migratory birds call the 6,400 acre wildlife refuge located on Sanibel Island their home. J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge has been a well known spot for bird lovers, photographers and biologist to observe many species of birds that flock to this unique ecosystem each year. The refuge got started in 1945. Developers look to purchase the mangrove property in an attempt to develop it into a tourist hot spot similar to Miami Beach on the east coast. Knowing how environmentally important the land was to the ecosystem, political cartoonist Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling led an effort to protect the land. The successful effort led to an executive order by President Harry Truman that created the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge and spared the land of any development. Following the death of Darling in 1967, the refuge was renamed J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge” in his honor. The 6,400 acre refuge consists of several ecosyste...

Osprey, Florida: This thirty acre peninsula on the edge of Little Sarasota Bay has been home to humans for over 5,000 years. From early prehistoric natives in 3000 B.C. to the wealthy Palmer family in the 1900’s, much of their way of life has be preserved in this living museum. Through careful excavation of the middens on the property, it has been determined that life on the point dates back to around 3000 B.C. The site was occupied prehistoric natives from the Late Archaic period through the Late Woodland period. Excavations indicated that the prehistoric natives lived on the land until around AD 1100. The point remained vacant until 1867 when John Webb moved his family here from New York. Webb learned of the area from a Spanish trader he met in Key West. IN honor of the trader, Webb named the land Spanish Point. They began to grow citrus and built a packing house to shop the fruit to markets in Cedar Key and Key West. The Webb family marketed Spanish Point as a getaway from t...

Homosassa, Florida: In the midst of dense tropical foliage lies home to many of Florida’s residents. Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park provides a walk into the habitats of the animals that call Florida their home. The park is home to bobcats, panthers, bears, birds of prey, manatees and many more Florida natives. The vision of the park began in the early 1900’s when the train that traveled through Homosassa would stop at the springs. Guests would disembark the train and marvel that the clear waters and abundance of fish that called the springs home. In 1940, the site was purchased and operated as a petting zoo style attraction. In 1964, the land was bought by the Norris Development Company. Although the master plan of the company was to build a city here, the beginning of the project led to what is now present day Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. The project began with the dredging of the creek, which exhausted much of the money that was set aside for the project. Then on a trip ...

Homosassa, Florida: This small state park in Homosassa sits on what was once a thriving sugar plantation during the Civil War era. The plantation and mill were owned and operated by prominent Floridian David Levy Yulee. Today the park has what remains of the sugar mill along with picnic facilities. Yulee practiced law in St. Augustine and became the delegate to the United States Congress for the Florida Territory prior to Florida becoming a state. Once Florida was admitted to the Union in 1845, Yulee became the Democratic representive for Florida in the United States Senate. Yulee served one term in the Senate before being voted out of office in 1850. He was later reelected in 1855 and served until 1861 when Florida seceded from the Union. Once he was voted out of the Senate, Yulee began a 5,100 acre sugar plantation in Homosassa, Florida. The plantation in which Yulee called Margarita, was operated by over a thousand slaves and produced sugar, syrup and molasses. In 1851, a su...

Dunedin, Florida: Located on the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County lies the picturesque Honeymoon Island. With over 2,800 acres of wildland and 4 miles of beaches, the island is home to many Florida native plants and wildlife. The island was once much larger, but was split in two by a major hurricane in 1921. The result was two islands, Hog Island and Caladesi Island separated by Hurricane Pass. Hog Island was later purchased by Clinton Washburn, an New York developer in 1939. Washburn built cottages and marketed the island as a honeymoon getaway for newlywed couples. The island was then renamed Honeymoon Island. The island remained a prominent vacation spot until World War II when the cottages fell into disrepair. The State of Florida took possession of the island and it became part of the Florida State Park system. The cottages were removed and the island was attached to the mainland via the Dunedin Causeway. This resulted in more than 900,000 annual visitors to the park. ...

Osprey, Florida: In a rapidly developing area of central Sarasota County lies a 1,400 acre wildlife habitat that welcomes of 130,000 visitors annually. Oscar Scherer State Park has been in operation since 1956 and is home to many of Florida native wildlife. In 1955, Elsa Scherer Burrows passed away and left the family’s 460 acre ranch along the South Creek to the state of Florida in the name of her father, Oscar Scherer. One year later the park opened to the public. The park expanded in 1991 due to an effort to protect the Florida Scrub-Jay by realtor and current Sarasota County commissioner Jon Thaxton. With the efforts of Thaxton and the Nature Conservancy, the park added 922 acres from Palmer Ranch and grew to 1,384 acres. Then in recognition of National Public Lands Day 2008, local developer Lee Wetherington donated 16 acres from the Willowbend subdivision to bring the park to its current day size of 1,400 acres. Oscar Scherer State Park consist of several Florida landscapes i...

Welcome to Around the World in Pictures. My name is Jim Donten and I am the photographer and author of the site. I have enjoyed digital photography since my first digital camera in 2003. Since then I have accumulated a large collection of digital photos. I have also been published numerous times by the Charlotte Stone Crabs, Sarasota Reds, Cincinnati Reds and most recently the Verizon Yellow Pages 2009-2010 (inside cover and three other pages). In addition to taking pictures, I also enjoy traveling, history and sports (mainly baseball). I enjoy visiting theme parks, nature trails and catching minor league baseball. Everywhere I go, I travel with my camera and am always trying to capture the moments through the lens. I began using my Kodak 3.2 megapixel digital camera very heavily once we got it in 2003. Suddenly a love for photography was born. I enjoyed the ease of digital, you could take as many pictures as you wanted without the expense of film or processing. I mainly shot v...

Parrish, Florida: Nestled in quiet Parrish, Florida is a museum in which you do not only view the exhibits, you ride them as well. The Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum was founded in 1981 and takes guests on a 1 1/2 hour excursion on six miles of railroad formerly owned by Seaboard Air Lines. The Museum has a quite a vast collection of railway equipment. The collection revolves around their locomotives with Florida Gulf Coast 1835 (Former Army 1835) being the workhorse of the group. The locomotive collection also includes: Seaboard Air Lines 1633, Pennsylvania Railroad 8604, Florida Gulf Coast 100, Cargill 61 and BEDT 12 Porter. In addition to the locomotives, the museum has several trains cars from various classes including: Pullmans, Coaches, Baggage Cars, Freight/Cargo Cars and Cabooses. In addition to the weekend train excursions from Parrish to the Willow Train Yard and back, the museum offers several specialty train rides. In the past, the museum sponsored the following sp...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs inaugural season came to an end on Wednesday night as the Stone Crabs fell to the Tampa Yankees in game five of the Florida State League Championship Season. The Yankees took the series 3-2, winning the 2009 Florida State League Championship. The game got underway after a two and a half hour rain delay. As with the previous two games, both pitchers dueled through a scoreless tie for the first few innings of the game. Tampa broke the tie in the fourth inning. David Adams led off the inning with a double to the left field corner. Brian Flores then threw away the ball on a pick-off attempt, allowing Adams to move to third. Austin Romine followed with a ground ball that scored Adams and gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Tampa struck for three more runs in the fifth inning. Luis Nunez and Jack Rye got things started with back to back singles. Then Walter Ibarra struck a double to right to score Nunez and move Rye to third. David Adams la...

Port Charlotte, Florida; The Charlotte Stone Crabs battled back to tie the FSL Championship Series by defeating the Tampa Yankees 3-1 on Tuesday night at Charlotte Sports Park. With the win, the series is now tied 2-2. The Stone Crabs were led by a dominating performance on the mound by David Newmann. Newmann pitched a no-hitter through seven innings and held the shut-out into the ninth. Charlotte broke the scoreless tie in the sixth inning. Nevin Ashley singled to right to lead off the inning. Drew Anderson drew a walk later in the inning. Greg Sexton followed with a home run to left field, giving the Stone Crabs a 3-0 lead. The Yankees tried to mount a comeback in the ninth inning. Daniel Brewer got thing started with a single to left. David Adams followed with a double to center, advancing Brewer to third. Then Damon Sublett followed with a ground ball to first that scored Brewer and moved Adams to third. Richard De Los Santos came into the game and recorded the final out...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs lost to the Tampa Yankees 3-1 on Monday night in game three of the FSL Championship Series. The lost put the Stone Crabs one game behind the Yankees 2-1 in the best of five series. Alex Cobb and DJ Mitchell dueled through five full scoreless innings. But the Yankees took the zero of the board in the top of the sixth inning. Damon Sublett reached base on a walk. Austin Romine followed with an RBI double to center that scored Sublett and gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Tampa added some insurance to their lead in the ninth inning, posting two more runs to the scoreboard. Once again it was Damon Sublett getting things started, this time with a single to center. Sublett then stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by Nevin Ashley. Austin Romine followed with an RBI double to right to score Sublett and Romine came in to score on a throwing error by John Matulia, increasing the Yankee lead to 3-0. The Stone Crabs thre...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs lost an exciting game against the Fort Myers Miracle in game one of the Florida State League South Division Finals on Tuesday night at Charlotte Sports Park. Both clubs combined for fifteen runs and twenty-five hits in the game which saw the Miracle squeak by with a 8-7 win. Fort Myers scored first in the second inning. Mark Dolenc singled to center for the first hit of the game. Joe Benson followed with double to left, moving Dolenc to third. Then Deibinson Romero drove home the run with a ground ball to short, giving the Miracle a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs took the lead in the fourth inning. Greg Sexton singled to center then advanced to third on a double by Henry Wrigley. Shawn Williams drew a walk to load the bases. Drew Anderson drew a bases loaded walk to push across Sexton to tie the ball game. Then Matt Sweeney followed with a ground ball to first that scored Wrigley and gave the Stone Crabs a 2-1 lead. Fort Myers stru...

Loxahatchee, Florida: Opened in 1967, Lion Country Safari is a 500 acre animal park consisting of a five mile drive-through safari and a walk-through safari featuring over 800 animals. The safari was part of a six park venture by a group of entrepreneurs from South Africa and Great Britain. The Lion Country Safari in Florida is the only location still in operation and in 2009 was voted the third best zoo in America by USA Travel Guide. Upon arrival to Lion Country Safari, you begin the five mile drive-through safari. The safari is broken into seven animal habitats representing different regions of the wild. The habitats as you approach them are: Las Pampas- the grassland habitat featuring the Brazilian Tapir, Aldabra Tortoise, Llama, Rhea, Florida Brown Pelican and Fallow Deer. Ruaha National Park-unspoiled wilderness featuring Greater Kudu, Impala and Aoudad. Kalahari Bushveldt- a dry plateau featuring Nile Lechwe and Gemsbok. Gir Forest- home to the Asiatic Water Buffalo, Nilgai...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs dropped the regular season finale to the Sarasota Reds 4-0 on Sunday evening at Charlotte Sports Park. With the loss, the Stone Crabs finished their inaugural season with an overall record of 71-66 and are headed to the playoffs. The Sarasota Reds also had a milestone of their own as they ended their franchise affiliation with Sarasota and leave the Florida State League on a winning note. Both clubs endured a scoreless pitchers duel until the fifth inning when Sarasota struck for four runs in the inning. Jordan Wideman got the scoring rally started with a single to center followed by a single by Dave Sappelt. Neftali Soto followed with an RBI double to score Wideman and move Sappelt to third. Alex Buchholz followed with a ground ball to third that scored Sappelt as Greg Sexton’s throw home was errant. Jose Gualdron then drove home two more runs with a triple that gave the Reds the 4-0 lead. After the big inning, the pitching du...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs fell to the Sarasota Reds 4-1 on Saturday night at Charlotte Sports Park. The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning when Sarasota pushed across two runs. Justin Reed and Alex Buchholz led off the inning with back to back singles. Then Neftali Soto reached on an error by Matt Hall on a misplayed double play ball that loaded the bases for Sarasota. Denis Phipps singled to right to score Reed. Then Kyle Day hit a sac fly to center to score Buchholz and give the Reds a 2-0 lead. Sarasota added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning. Alex Buchholz led of the inning by drawing a walk. Denis Phipps followed with a two run home run to increase the Sarasota lead 4-0. The Stone Crabs scored their only run of the night in the eighth inning. Emeel Salem singled to short to lead off the inning. John Matulia later followed with a single to right, moving Salem to second. Shawn Williams drew a walk to load the bases. Greg ...

Tampa, Florida: Although known primarily for their animal exhibits, Lowry Park Zoo has added some family fun rides to provide thrills for all members of the family. This diversity has led to the zoo being named the number one family zoo in the nation by both Child magazine and Parents magazine. In addition to the standard theme park style rides, the zoo also features a few animal rides as well. The Jungle Carousel is a classic merry-go-round in which guests can ride on various wild animals. The carousel consists of Cheetahs, Manatees, Elephants and many more different animals. On the Safari Ride, guest climb aboard on open tram car and head off on a trip through the African safari. The fifteen minute ride takes you through the habitats of giraffes, elephants, zebras and many more animals. It also takes you through the back lot area of the zoo with a look at the nighttime quarters for many of the animals. The Skyfari takes riders soaring above the zoo on a chair lift style Skyri...

Sarasota, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs were on the winning side of a pitching duel during game one of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Sarasota Reds at Ed Smith Stadium. It took ten innings to determine the winner but in the end it was the Stone Crabs picking up the 1-0 victory. The Stone Crabs broke the scoreless tie in the top of the tenth inning. Omar Luna kicked off the scoring drive with a single to center. Luna then advanced second on a wild pitch and then scored the winning run on a throwing error by Reds third baseman Neftali Soto. Alex Cobb pitched 7 shut-out innings and allowed 5 hits while striking out 2 and walking 2. Richard De Los Santos picked up the win by throwing 3 no-hit innings and recorded 5 strikeouts. Justin Freeman was the losing pitcher for Sarasota. For photos from the game, click on the above photo or go to my Stone Crabs/Reds photo page.

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone dropped the series finale against the Fort Myers Miracle 5-3 on Sunday evening at Charlotte Sports Park. The Miracle scored first in the second inning. Chris Parmelee led off the inning with a walk. Deibinson Romero then hit an RBI triple to score Parmelee and give Fort Myers a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs wasted no time and tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Reid Fronk hit a solo home run to right field that tied the game. Fort Myers regained the lead in the fifth inning with the assist from the umpire crew in the form of an errant call. Deibinson Romero led off the inning with a single to left. Nick Romero followed with a foul ball that was to the left of the pole in left field by a bad call by home umpire Eric Underwood ruled it a home run. Arguments from both Charlotte coaches fell on deaf ears (and obviously blind eyes) as the Miracle took a 3-1 lead. The Stone Crabs rallied back to tie the game again in the home half...

Clearwater, Florida: The Gulf Coast League Phillies (GCL Phillies) are the Rookie League affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The GCL Phillies play in the West Division of the Gulf Coast League. The team was founded in 1984 and play at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater. The roster is comprised of players in their first year of professional baseball and rehabbing players. The GCL Phillies won the league championship during the 2008 season. For photos from the GCL Phillies, visit my GCL Phillies photo page. Here you can find game photos and player photos.

Bradenton, Florida: The Gulf Coast Pirates shut-out the Gulf Coast Phillies 3-0 on Saturday at Pirate City. Both clubs dueled in a shut-out until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Pirates struck for two runs. Elvys Gonzalez drew a walk to lead off then inning. Gift Ngoepe then reached on an error to put a second runner on the base path. Gerlis Rodriguez laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners into scoring position. Andrew Walker drove home the first run with an RBI double to score Gonzalez. Ngoepe later scored on a sacrifice fly by Rogelios Noris and the Pirates took a 2-0 lead. The Pirates added an insurance run in the seventh inning. Melvin De La Cruz led off the inning with a walk. De La Cruz advanced to second on a stolen base and then to third on a sac bunt by Elvys Gonzalez. Gift Ngoepe followed with a ground ball to first that scored De La Cruz and gave the Pirates the 3-0 margin of victory. Brad Clapp picked up the win and Diomedes Garcia the save fo...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs lost to the Fort Myers Miracle 7-1 on Friday night at Charlotte Sports Park. The Miracle got started in the first inning as Ben Revere led off the game by drawing a walk. Revere then advanced to third on a single by Estarlin De Los Santos. Then Revere scored on a wild pitch to put the Miracle ahead 1-0. The Miracle increased their lead in the third. Jair Fernandez and Chris Cates led off the inning with back to back singles. Then Estarlin De Los Santos hit into a force out, leaving the Miracle with runners on the corners. Evan Bigley drove home the first run of the inning with an RBI single to score Fernandez. Then Chris Parmelee cleared the bases with a three run homer to increase the Miracle lead to 5-0. Fort Myers posted two more runs in the fifth inning. Chris Parmelee drew a walk and Joe Benson was hit by a pitch to put two runners on the bases for the Miracle. Then Mark Dolenc hit a two run double to give the Miracle a ...

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds fell to the St. Lucie Mets 10-4 on Thursday night at Ed Smith Stadium. The game was kicked off by Sarasota pitcher Mark Pawelek performing the national anthem on his guitar. But that was the highlight of the night for the Reds as the Mets dominated the rest of the game. St. Lucie took the lead in the first inning. Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Reese Havens led off the game with back to back singles. Nieuwenhuis then advanced to third as Zach Lutz grounded into a double play. Carlos Guzman followed with an RBI single to score Nieuwenhuis and give the Mets a 1-0 lead. The Mets added another run in the second inning. Stefan Welch singled to lead off the inning and Brahiam Maldonado followed with a walk to but two runners on base. Seth Williams advanced both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Then Welch scored on a sac fly by Hector Pellot to advance the Mets lead 2-0. Sarasota reached the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning....

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs swept Sunday’s double header against the Palm Beach Cardinals with a 3-2 walk off win in game two at Charlotte Sports Park. Palm Beach broke the scoreless tie with two solo home runs in the fourth inning. Alex Castellanos went deep to left followed by Thomas Pham and the Cardinals now had a 2-0 lead. The Stone Crabs battled back to tie the game in the sixth inning. John Matulia singled on a but to start the inning. Shawn O’Malley followed with another bunt for a single advancing Matulia to third. Then Drew Anderson hit a single to left field, scoring Matulia for the first run of the inning and both O’Malley and Anderson advanced an extra base on the throw. Ryan Royster plated the second run of the inning on a ground ball to left that scored O’Malley and tied the game. Charlotte then scored the game winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Nevin Ashley was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Ashley advanced to second on a...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs defeated the Palm Beach Cardinals 3-2 in game one of Sunday’s doubleheader at Charlotte Sports Park. The game was delayed for a brief time in the first inning as home plate umpire Matt Cunningham was injured after a pitch from Jake McGee sailed wild and hit him in the arm. AJ Johnson moved behind the plate and Stephen Vogt, who is currently in the DL, worked the bases. The Stone Crabs scored first in the home half of the first inning. Shawn O’Malley was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Ryan Royster followed with a single to right, advancing O’Malley to third. John Matulia then delivered a two run triple to right, giving the Stone Crabs a 2-0 lead. Palm Beach cut the lead in half in the second inning. Alex Castellanos doubled to center to get things started for the Cardinals. Francisco Rivera then singled home Castellanos to move the Cardinals to within one run. The Stone Crabs added an insurance run in the third. Shawn O’...

Ellenton, Florida: In 1843, General Robert Gamble claimed 160 acres along the Manatee River as part of the Armed Occupation Act following the Second Seminole War. As part of the agreement, settlers were provided 160 acres of wilderness in exchange for living on the land for a minimum of five years. Gamble took the deal and began building his sugar plantation. It took almost six years to complete the Antebellum mansion. It is a two story mansion that was built out of tabby. The mansion was built to withstand the elements of the time period; Indian attacks and the Florida weather. There were no exterior staircases, the only way to access the second floor was through an interior stair. The back portion of the house, the children’s room was accessible by a rope ladder in which the boys would drop down as they needed to get out and pull back up when they were back in their rooms. The mansion even included an early alarm type systems as it was surrounded by sand and each night the sl...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs overcame a six run deficit to defeat the Fort Myers Miracle 7-6 in twelve innings on Wednesday night at Charlotte Sports Park. After waiting out an hour rain delay, both clubs engaged in the four and a half hour marathon that saw a combined twenty seven hits during the game that went into the early hours of Thursday morning. Fort Myers jumped all over Jake McGee in the first inning, striking for five runs without a single out being recorded. Ben Revere and Estarlin De Los Santos led off the game with back to back singles. Deibinson Romero then drew a walk to load the bases. Chris Parmelee followed with a two run double to score Revere and De Los Santos. Then Evan Bigley cleared the bases with a three run home run. The Stone Crabs then made a call to the pen for Darin Downs to take over the hill and try and quiet the Fort Myers offense. Marc Dolenc was the first batter to face Downs and struck for a solo home run to give the Mira...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs were swept by the Tampa Yankees after being shut-out 7-0 on Wednesday night at Charlotte Sports Park. The Yankees posted their first run in the second inning as Seth Fortenberry led off with a triple to left. Luis Nunez followed with a sac fly to drive home Fortenberry and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Yankees struck for two more in the third. Daniel Brewer and Matt Cusick got it going with back to back singles with both runners advancing into scoring position on a throwing error by Omar Luna. David Adams then drove home the first run of the inning with a sac fly to score Brewer. Damon Sublett drew a walk to put runners at first and second. Cusick and Sublett then pulled a double steal with Cusick later scoring on a wild pitch by Alex Cobb to put Tampa ahead 3-0. The Yankees then got another run in the sixth off a sac fly by Walter Ibarra to score Luis Nunez. The Tampa offense kept producing into the seventh inning as they s...

Estero, Florida: In 1894, Cyrus Teed ventured into rural southern Florida to establish a “New Jerusalem”, a utopia for the followers of Koreshanity. The utopia became known as the Koreshan Unity and was a was a self preserving society until the early 1900’s. Teed was an eclectic physician who in 1869 suffered an electrical shock during an experiment which rendered him unconscious. While unconscious, Teed believed he had a divine inspiration and was the messiah of a new religious belief. He changed his name to Koresh which is Hebrew for Cyrus and began spreading the beliefs of Koreshanity. The beliefs of Koreshanity revolved around the core belief of Cellular Cosmogony. They believed the earth and universe were contained inside a sphere known as a cell. They spent much of their time doing science experiments trying to prove this theory. They also believed in reincarnation, immortality, alchemy, communism and celibacy. Teed began preaching his beliefs in New York. The followers ...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs tried to mount a comeback in the late innings but fell short a run in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Yankees Sunday evening at Charlotte Sports Park. Tampa’s big first inning doomed the Stone Crabs as they managed to out hit the Yankees 11-4 and only allowed one hit outside the first inning, but still fell short. Tampa struck first, tagging rehabbing Jake McGee for three runs in the first inning. Daniel Brewer singled to center to start the game. Brewer advanced to second on a sac bunt by Matt Cusick and then to third on a wild pitch. Austin Romaine followed with an RBI single to score Brewer. Brandon Laird then cleared the bases with a homer to put the Yankees ahead 3-0. Tampa and Charlotte went out to out for the next six innings with neither team able to plate a run. But that all ended in the bottom of the eighth inning when the Stone Crabs took the zero off the board. Omar Luna and Shawn Riggans delivered back to back singles to s...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs were shut out by the Clearwater Threshers by the score of 2-0 on Friday night at Charlotte Sports Park. Both clubs starting pitchers, Charlotte’s Brian Flores and Clearwater’s Darren Byrd, dueled through five shutout innings before the scoreless tie was broken. But in the top of the sixth inning, Clearwater was able to take the zero off the board by producing two runs in the inning. Michael Durant got the inning going with a single to left. Durant was then driven home on an RBI triple by Cody Overbeck. Fidel Hernandez followed with a single to left that scored Overbeck. Clearwater’s pitching remained strong as they kept Charlotte off the scoreboard and gave the Threshers a 2-0 win. Brian Flores turn in an quality start, pitching 5 shutout innings allowing 5 hits and striking out 3 in the no decision. Justin Garcia came into the game in relief and was charged with the loss as he surrendered 2 runs on 3 hits while striking out 1 a...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs swept the Jupiter Hammerheads by winning 4-2 on Friday night at Charlotte Sports Park. Jupiter got on the scoreboard first in the third inning. Miguel Fermin led off the inning with a single to short. Fermin stole second and advanced to third on a ground out by Osvaldo Martinez. Greg Burns followed with a sac fly to left to score Fermin and give the Hammerheads a 1-0 lead. The lead held until the sixth inning when things fell apart for the Hammerheads and the Stone Crabs took advantage, striking for four runs in the inning. The inning started with a lead off double by Shawn Riggans. Henry Wrigley followed with an RBI single to right to score Riggans and tie the game. Ryan Royster was next to reach on a fielding error by Jupiter’s Luis Ott. John Matulia then delivered an RBI double to score Wrigley and move Royster to third. Ryan Royster then scored after being caught in a run down following Mike McCormick’s grounder, Royster ...

Jupiter, Florida: The Jupiter Hammerheads are the A-Advanced affiliate of the Florida Marlins. The Hammerheads are in the South Division of the Florida State League. The club was founded in 1998 as a Montreal Expos affiliate. Then in 2002, the clubs affiliation transferred to the Florida Marlins. The Hammerheads play their home games at Roger Dean Stadium, a shared facility with the Palm Beach Cardinals. For more photos of the Hammerheads, visit my Jupiter Hammerheads photo page. Here you can find game photos and player photos.

Sarasota, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs fell to the Sarasota Reds by the score of 6-1 on Saturday night at Ed Smith Stadium. The Reds hit the scoreboard first in the second inning. Neftali Soto lead off the inning with a double to center and later scored on an RBI single by Jason Louwsma to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs battled back to tie the game in the top of the fourth. Henry Wrigley singled to left and Cody Cipriano was hit by a pitch to give the Stone Crabs runners on first and second. John Matulia followed with a line drive single to score Wrigley and tie the game at 1. The Reds struck for four runs in the bottoms of the sixth to distance themselves from the Stone Crabs. The inning got started with a single by Neftali Soto who later scored on an RBI double by Jake Kahaulelio. Jason Louwsma followed with an RBI single to score Kahaulelio. Jose Gualdron then delivered a single to center to put two runners onboard for the Reds. Justin Tordi singled home Lo...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs rallied from a two run deficit in the late innings to defeat the Sarasota Reds 5-2 Sunday evening at Charlotte Sports Park. Sarasota scored first in the top of the third inning. The Reds led off the inning with back to back singles by Jose Gualdron and Justin Tordi. Justin Reed followed with a line drive down the first base line that was misplayed by Cody Cipriano allowing Gualdron to score. Tordi tried to come home on a wild pitch by Jeremy Hall but was out at the plate thanks to a great play by catcher Christian Lopez recovering the ball and flipping it back to Hall for the out. Sarasota posted their second run of the night in the sixth inning. Denis Phipps got things going with a double and was later drove home by a single from the bat of Neftali Soto. Sarasota now held a 2-0 lead. But they lead would quickly diminish as the Stone Crabs battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Henry Wrigley led off the inning ...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The post game fireworks show was not the only thing exploding in front of the record crowd of 7,340 at Charlotte Sports Park, the explosive offense of the Charlotte Stone Crabs put nine runs on the scoreboard enroute to a 9-2 victory over the Fort Myers Miracle on Saturday night. The Stone Crabs celebrated Independence Day by wearing special edition red, white and blue uniforms and wasted no time getting things going by putting three runs on the board n the second inning. Ryan Royster got things started with a single to center and then advanced to second on a balk by Fort Myers pitcher Steve Hirschfeld. Reid Fronk drew a walk. Royster was eliminated on a force out at third on the following play as Ian Paxton grounded into a force out, but the Stone Crabs still had runners at first and second. Omar Luna followed with a single to right to score Fronk. Matt Hall singled home Luna and then later scored on an RBI single by Shawn O’Malley to give the Stone Cra...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs fell to the Brevard County Manatees in game one of Thursday’s doubleheader at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs took an early lead in the first inning off an RBI single by Cody Cipriano to score John Matulia. Cipriano later scored on a Henry Wrigley single and the Stone Crabs took a 2-0 lead. The Manatees came back to take the lead in the top of the second inning. Caleb Gindl and Eric Farris led off the inning with back to back singles. Zelous Wheeler advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt. Sergio Miranda followed with a two run double to right field. Logan Schafer singled home Miranda for the third run of the inning and Brevard County took the lead 3-2. The Manatees added four more runs to their lead in the third inning. Zelous Wheeler drove home two runs with a single to right that scored Steffan Wilson and Caleb Gindl. Sergio Miranda followed with a single that scored Eric Farris. Then it was Carlos Corporan to drive...