The Wandering Disciple

Port Charlotte, Florida: After two consecutive days of rain-outs, the rain stayed away long enough for the Charlotte Stone Crabs and Jupiter Hammerheads to play a doubleheader on Thursday night. The Stone Crabs swept the twin bill at Charlotte Sports Park. Game one was dominated by the Stone Crabs starting ace Matt Moore. His work on the mound combined by a big fly by Tyler Bortnick gave the Stone Crabs a 4-0 shut-out victory. The Stone Crabs took the lead in the second inning. Ryan Royster led off the inning with a double to right field. Stephen Vogt followed with a ground ball to second, but a throwing error by Jupiter’s second baseman led to Royster scoring and giving the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs picked up some insurance in the sixth inning. Tim Beckham doubled to left then later stole third base. Vogt then drew an intentional walk to put runners on the corners. Tyler Bortnick then delivered a three run homer to left, his first hit as a Stone Crab to give th...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Orioles fell to the GCL Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon at the Ed Smith Sports Complex. It took four innings for someone to break through the zeros but when it was over, it was the Red Sox taking the 6-1 win. It wasn’t until the fifth inning until the Red Sox reached the scoreboard. Jose Vinicio led off the inning with a single to right. Henry Ramos followed with a triple to center that scored Vinicio. Ramos would later score on a sac fly by Kendrick Perkins to give them a 2-0 lead. The Red Sox added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning. Luke Yoder drew a walk with one out to get things going. Yoder moved into scoring position by stealing second. Trygg Danforth drove home the run with an RBI double to increase the lead to 3-0. The Orioles pushed across their lone run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Riley Hornback drew a walk followed by Michael Mosby being hit by a pitch. Rojean Cleofa then drove home the run with a ground ball that sc...

Fort Myers, Florida: The Gulf Coast League Red Sox are the rookie league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox join the Rays, Oriole and Twins as part of the Southern Division of the Gulf Coast League. The GCL Red Sox have been a member of the league since 1991. They split there schedule between the Red Sox Player Development Complex and City of Palms Park in downtown Fort Myers. The schedule begins in late June and runs through August. The Red Sox won the league title in 2006. They are also a five time division champion as well, winning the division in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. For photos from the club, visit my GCL Red Sox photo page. Here you will find game photos and player profiles.

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs won their seventh game in a row by defeating the St. Lucie Mets 8-7 on Sunday evening at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs lost their lead midway through the game but walked off with the win thanks to a ninth inning RBI by Isaias Velasquez. It was a big night for Stone Crabs fans as Carlos Pena was playing tonight on an MLB rehab assignment, leading off as the designated hitter. It was also the first start for newly promoted pitcher Kirby Yates, who just joined the Stone Crabs after being promoted from Bowling Green. The Stone Crabs jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Carlos Pena and Tim Beckham led off the inning with back to back singles. Pena then advanced to third after Stephen Vogt grounded into a double play. Greg Sexton drove home the run with an RBI single to score Pena to give the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs added to their lead in the second inning. Michael Sheridan opened the inning with...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Rays took over sole possession of first place in the division with a shut-out victory on Friday the Thirteenth. The 4-0 win was enough to give the Rays a one game advantage in the division as we near the end of the regular season. The Rays broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third inning. Luke Bailey hit a solo home run over the right field wall to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. The Rays offense would not score again until the top of the ninth inning when they struck for three runs in the inning. Justin O’Conner led off the inning with a walk then moved to third on a sac bunt followed by a wild pitch. Cesar Perez then drew a walk followed by Julian Morillo reaching on an fielder’s choice with O’Conner out at home on the play. An intentional walk to Bailey loaded the bases for the Rays. Edward Dorville drove home the first run of the inning with an RBI single to score Perez. Morillo then scored on a wild pitch followed by Bailey scoring on an error t...

Englewood, Florida: At the southern tip of Manasota Key lies a stretch of natural Florida coastline known as Stump Pass Beach State Park. The mile plus strand of unspoiled coastal land is a favorite to locals and tourists alike. Many flock to the park for the great beach, shelling and fishing. The park is made up of three islands sandwiched between the Gulf of Mexico and Lemon Bay. The main portion of the park is located on Manasota Key and is accessible via the Tom Adams Bridge. Here is the gulf beaches, picnic areas, bath house and nature trail. As you head further east you encounter the uninhabited Peterson Island and Whidden Key which are also part of the park and only accessible via boat. The body of water separating the islands is known as Ski Alley and is a popular local water recreation area. At the southern end of the park is Stump Pass, one of the few passes in the area that allow you to enter the Gulf of Mexico from the Intercoastal Waterway. The water activities are...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs were unable to overcome the offense of the Lakeland Flying Tigers as they lost 5-4 on Friday night at Charlotte Sports Park. Lakeland took an early lead in the second inning. Francisco Martinez and Jordan Lennerton picked up back to back singles to lead off the inning. A sac bunt by Christopher Sedon moved both runners into scoring position. Samir Rijo drove home the first run with a line drive to left. Gustavo Nunez then drove home a run to increase the lead to 2-0. The Stone Crabs answered with a run in the bottom of the third. Rocco Baldelli led off the inning with a single to left. Stephen Vogt and Greg Jefferies then singled to load the bases. Reid Fronk drove home Baldelli with a sac fly to cut the lead in half 2-1. The Flying Tigers distanced themselves with a three run sixth inning. Matt Mansilla drove home the first run of the inning with an RBI single to score John Murrian. Later in the inning, Rijo ripped a two run ...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs picked up their 22nd come from behind victory in walk-off fashion against the Lakeland Flying Tigers. While the rehab appearance by Tampa Bay’s Andy Sonnanstine was the highlight of the night, it was the close contest between the regular starters that had people talking at the end of the night. Lakeland jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Gustavo Nunez led off the game with a line drive single to center. Nunez then stole second and later scored on an RBI single by Bryan Holaday to give the Flying Tigers a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs answered back in the bottom of the first. Tim Beckham drew a walk to put a runner on the bases. Then on a hit and run play, Stephen Vogt singled to right, allowing Beckham to score from first and tie the game 1-1. Lakeland took the lead back in the second. Patrick McKenna and Matthew Mansilla picked up back to back singles to get things started. Gustavo Nunez drove home the run with a si...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs suffered a tough loss to the Dunedin Blue Jays 10-4 on Sunday evening at Charlotte Sports Park. Stone Crabs starter Frank De Los Santos was hit hard in the loss, allowing 8 runs on 11 hits in the game. The Stone Crabs jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Reid Fronk led off the inning with a triple to right field. Tim Beckham drove home Fronk with a ground ball to second, giving the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. Dunedin battled back to take the lead in the top of the second inning. Mark Sobolewski led off the inning with a solo home run to left that tied the game. Later in the inning, Justin McClanahan drove home a run with an RBI single to center that scored Yan Gomes and gave the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. Dunedin added to their lead with another two run inning in the fourth inning. Ryan Goins scored the first run of the inning on a throwing error by Tim Beckham. Then Brian Van Kirk drove home Anthony Gose for the second ru...