The Wandering Disciple

Port Charlotte, Florida: Under bright Florida sunshine, over two thousand fan were on hand to watch the Stone Crabs face the Palm Beach Cardinals in the franchise first day game at Charlotte Sports Park. Despite a hard fought game, an error in the ninth caused the Stone Crabs to fall 3-2. The loss extended the Stone Crabs losing streak to four games. The Stone Crabs struck first, scoring in the third inning. Dustin Biell singled to center to lead off the inning. Greg Sexton later drove home the run with a single to short that was misplayed in the bright sunshine, Biell scored on the play and the Stone Crabs had a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs threatened again in the fourth inning. With Mark Thomas on second and Chris Murrill on first, Hak-Ju Lee struck a single down the line. Thomas crossed the plate but Murrill was thrown out at third for the final out of the inning, canceling out the run. The Cardinals tied the game in the fifth inning. Travis Tartamella singled to center with one out t...

Bradenton, Florida: Located in northwestern Bradenton, Robinson Preserve is a 487 acre wetland preserve that provides great outdoor recreational activities while helping to preserve the delicate ecosystem. The parcel of land that is now the preserve was once slated to become a 400 home golf course community. Seeing the importance of property to the local ecosystem, Manatee County approached the owner and developer of the property and purchased the property in 2003. Work then began to restore the land to its natural state. Manatee County sought help from various state and local agencies to help remove the exotic plant species and develop and plan for preservation of park. Today the restoration project is nearly completed and the land is thriving. Native plants and animals are doing well in the preserve and the waterways are now some of the best in the area. Robinson Preserve offers plenty of activities to help you get out and enjoy the great outdoors. There are miles of hiking/bik...

Port Charlotte, Florida: After getting blown out the night before, the Stone Crabs returned the favor by defeating the Bradenton Marauders 14-1 on Saturday night at Charlotte Sports Park. They pushed across a franchise high 14 runs on 15 hits and used a 9 run fourth inning to put the game out of reach. The Stone Crabs took the lead in the second inning. Mayo Acosta delivered a two out single to left to put a runner on the bases. Anthony Scelfo followed with a line drive to right that moved Acosta to third. Acosta would the score on a single by Matt Hall to put the Stone Crabs ahead 1-0. The Stone Crabs added three more runs an inning later in the third. Back to back to back singles by Brett Nommensen, Greg Sexton and Mike Sheridan loaded the bases for the Stone Crabs. Mark Thomas plated the first run with a sac fly. Then Scelfo drove home two with a line drive to right, increasing the lead to 4-0. Then came the wild fourth inning which saw the Stone Crabs push across a franchise high...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Stone Crabs opened up the 2011 season in dramatic fashion by defeating the Bradenton Marauders 3-2 on Thursday night. A pack crowd and Stone Crabs owner Cal Ripken Jr were treated to a spectacular performance in which the Stone Crabs battled back to win in the bottom of the ninth inning. Bradenton jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Robbie Grossman drew a walk to lead off the game. Grossman stole second and then advanced to third on a ground out by Jarek Cunningham. An RBI double by the MLB rehabbing catcher Chris Snyder scored Grossman to give the Marauders a 1-0 lead. The Stone Crabs battled back to tie the game in the home half of the first inning. The Stone Crabs first hit of the season came of the bat of Tyler Bortnick, a single up the middle. Bortnick then stole second and later scored on an RBI single by Greg Sexton to tie the game 1-1. The Marauders posted another run in the second inning to regain the lead. Cole White drew a walk to l...

Sarasota, Florida: The Montgomery Biscuits loaded the bus along with Triple-A Durham and headed north to Sarasota for the final spring training exhibition game of 2011. The Biscuits faced the Bowie Bay Sox in the final dress rehearsal for the regular season. With the players just a few days from heading north to their regular season homes, the teams are looking more and more opening day ready. The Biscuits and Bay Sox played a nine inning game in which no official score or stats were recorded. The focus of purpose of the minor league spring training games are to get players the needed reps to get ready for the season. Click on the photo above to view the Biscuits/Bay Sox photo gallery.

Sarasota, Florida: The Durham Bulls took the short drive north of Sarasota to face the Norfolk Tides in the final exhibition game of the 2011 spring training season. After the game, both clubs wrap up camp with scrimmages before camp breaks Sunday and the players head to their regular stadiums. Like all spring exhibition games, no official scores or statistics are kept. The players are simply trying to make final adjustments before the season begins on April 7. It won't be long before these two clubs face each other in a regular season game as Norfolk visits the Bulls for their home opener on April 14 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Click on the photo above to view the Bulls/Tides gallery.

Sarasota, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs traveled to Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota for their final road game of the spring. Here they faced the Frederick Keys in their second to last game of spring training. The roster shuffle is in full swing and the rosters are looking more and more like opening day. These two teams will face off tomorrow in Port Charlotte and that will conclude the exhibition schedule for the Stone Crabs. They will play in intrasquad scrimmages over the weekend and then begin workouts to prepare for opening day on April 7. Click on the photo above to view the Stone Crabs/Keys photo gallery.