The Wandering Disciple

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...