The Wandering Disciple

North Port, Florida: The North Port Bobcats dropped their home opener against Desoto County on Friday night at the Preserve. Despite taking an early lead in the second quarter and holding Desoto to just one first down in the first half, a twenty point fourth quarter doomed the Bobcats, handing them a 20-7 loss. The Bobcats took the lead in the second quarter. The 56 yard scoring drive was capped off by quarterback Paul Balcomb scoring on a 3 yard QB keeper. The touchdown plus the extra point gave the Bobcats a 7-0 advantage heading into the locker room for halftime. The second half began much like the first half. Hard nose defense and running attack, kept the score at 7-0 until the midway through the fourth quarter. But that’s when things turned bad for the Bobcats. Th Bulldogs recovered a fumble by Antonio Washington to start the game tying scoring drive. Washington then ended the drive by throwing a 23 yard option pass to Dalton Green to tie the game. Another Bobcat turnover led to ...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs finished the 2010 regular season in winning fashion by defeating the Bradenton Marauders 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs led by a fantastic outing on the mound my Jake Thompson, took the lead in the third inning and never looked back. The Stone Crabs took the zero off the board in the bottom of the third inning. Isaias Velasquez and Reid Fronk delivered back to back singles to put runners on the bases. Velasquez would later score on a force out by Tim Beckham to give the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs added to their lead in the fourth inning. Michael Sheridan singled followed by a double by Matt Hall to put two runners in scoring position. Velasquez then drove home both runners with a single to left, increasing the lead to 3-0. Bradenton picked up their only run of the game in the eighth inning. Adam Davis singled to center then advanced to second after Jordan Newton was walked. Greg P...

Port Charlotte, Florida: Over 6,000 fans packed Charlotte Sports Park to watch a preview of the first round of the playoffs as the Charlotte Stone Crabs faced their neighbor to the north Bradenton Marauders. Both clubs dueled toe to toe but when the dust settled and the game was over, the Stone Crabs fell 4-2. The Stone Crabs jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Stephen Vogt drew a walk with two outs to put a runner on the bases. Vogt moved to second on a wild pitch. Then Greg Sexton hit a fly ball into shallow right that fell in the middle of the three Bradenton defenders, the hang time on the ball was enough to allow Vogt to score from second and give the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. Bradenton tied the game an inning later. Eric Fryer singled to left to get things going. Then things took an odd turn. Calvin Anderson connected on a check swing and dropped the ball right in front of home plate. What appeared to be a dead ball, home plate umpire ruled a live ball and An...

The Charlotte Stone Crabs will host their final homestand of the regular season this weekend. In what appears to be a preview of the 2010 FSL South Division Playoffs, the Stone Crabs host their neighbor to the north, the Bradenton Marauders. The weekend is packed with promotions including the popular Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday night. The Stone Crabs will have giveaways throughout the game as well as the final fireworks show of the season to follow the game. In addition to the festivities of the night, Miss Sarasota Softball will be conducting a fundraiser on the main concourse to help raise money for their organization. MSS is a non-profit organization that provides a recreational fastpitch softball program for girls ages 4 1/2 to 16. The league has been attempting to refurbish their park that has been their home for over 30yrs. The park is in serious need of new dugouts. The program is strictly funded through volunteer hours and donations for the community. The program ...

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.