Sarasota Reds vs Dunedin Blue Jays

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds were swept by the Dunedin Blue Jays following a 3-0 loss on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the 2008 season.

Dunedin wasted no time taking the lead, striking for a run in the top of the first. Brad Wilkerson doubled to right to lead off the inning. Wilkerson scored on a double by Anthony Hatch to take a 1-0 lead.

The Blue Jays added to their lead in the sixth inning. David Corrente doubled to left to lead off the inning. Luis Sanchez reached on an error followed by a walk to Wilkerson to load the bases. Marcos Cabral drew a bases loaded walk to push across the first run of the inning. A second run came on a wild pitch by Terrell Young to give the Blue Jays a 3-0 win.

Click on the photo above to view the Reds/Blue Jays gallery.

Sarasota Reds vs Dunedin Blue Jays

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds suffered a 7-1 loss to the Dunedin Blue Jays on Saturday night at Ed Smith Stadium.

Dunedin jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Brad Wilkerson went deep with a solo home run to lead off the game. Then the rain came and the tarp was pulled with the Jays leading 1-0 in the first.

Play resumed after a 25 minute delay and the Blue Jays offense continued right where they left off. In the top of the third Wilkerson led off the inning with a double to center. He later scored on a double by David Cooper to increase the lead to 2-0.

The Reds pushed across their only run in the bottom of the third. The inning got started with single by Jake Long, Jose Castro and Carson Kainer to load the bases. Yonder Alonso plated a run with a single to right. But the Reds left the bases load as they cut the lead in half 2-1.

The Blue Jays got a solo run in the fourth and another in the firth to help extend the lead. Then in the sixth they pushed across three more runs to give them the 7-1 margin of victory.

Click on the photo above to view the Stone Crabs/Blue Jays.

Sarasota Reds vs Dunedin Blue Jays

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds rallied late but were unable to defeat the Dunedin Blue Jays, losing 4-3 on Friday evening.

The Reds took the lead in the first inning. Logan Parker struck an RBI double to center that scored Todd Frazier to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.

But Dunedin bounced back to take the lead in the fifth inning. Chris Emanuele hit a triple to left to lead off the inning. Then Anthony Hatch cleared the bases with a two run homer to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.

The Blue Jays added to their lead in the seventh inning. Brad Wilkerson doubled to right with two outs to put a runner in scoring position. Wilkerson then scored on a single by Marcos Cabral to increase the lead to 3-1.

The Frazier/Parker connection struck again in the eighth for the Reds. Frazier drew a walk and later advanced to second on a wild pitch. Parker drove him home with a line drive to right to pull the Reds within a run of the lead 3-2.

But Dunedin posted an insurance run an inning later. David Corrente delivered a pinch hit RBI single to score Luis Sanchez to give the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead.

The Reds tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth inning. Daniel Perales reached on an error to lead off the inning. Yuber Rodriguez then reached on another error in the inning to leave runners on the corners. Carson Kainer drove home Perales with a single to center. But they stranded the tying run on third as they suffered a 4-3 loss.

Click on the photo above to view the Reds/Blue Jays gallery.

Gulf Coast League Pirates

Bradenton, Florida: The Gulf Coast League Pirates are the rookie affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The GCL Pirates are in the northern division of the Gulf Coast League.

The club was founded in 1978. They are a three time division champion having won the division title in 2003, 2003 and 2008.

The GCL Pirates play there games at Pirate City, the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Florida.

Click on the photo above to view the GCL Pirates photo gallery.

Busch Gardens Tampa: Jambo Junction

Tampa, Florida: Jambo Junction takes a behind the scenes look at the animal care program at Busch Gardens. The Junction is home to newborn animal, animals under veterinarian care and also a few other animals are on display outside the care center.

Opened in 1986 as the Nairobi Field Station, the care center is home to the world class animal care team. Here guests can take an inside look through windows at the care provided to newborn and sick animals. Outside the care center are several animal habitats. The Junction is home to flamingos, lemurs, sloths and more.

In 2007, the attraction was transformed into Jambo Junction. The area was remodeled to provide a more interactive experience. The Junction is now also home to the animal ambassadors, a group of animals that travel to educational facilities to educate animal awareness.

For more pictures, click on the photo above or visit my Jambo Junction photo page.

GCL Orioles vs GCL Pirates

Bradenton, Florida: The GCL Pirates defeated the GCL Orioles 7-2 on Saturday afternoon at Pirate City. The Pirates used a five run fifth inning to help secure the win.

The Orioles took the lead in the second inning. Edinho Meyer led off the inning with a solo home run to give them a 1-0 lead.

But the Pirates battled back to take the lead in the fourth. Jesus Aguilera drove home two runs with a single to right to score Wes Freemand and Andury Acevedo to give them a 2-1 lead.

The Pirates took a commanding lead an inning later by crossing five runs across the plate. The inning was highlighted by a two run triple by Acevedo to help them take a 7-1 lead.

The Orioles would push across another run in the sixth. Xavier Avery hit a triple to center then later scored on a ground ball by Luis Ramirez. But they failed to produce any more runs and took a 7-2 loss.

Click on the photo above to view the Orioles/Pirates photo gallery.

Pirate City

Bradenton, Florida: Pirate City in Bradenton is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates as well as the base for the Pirate’s Florida operations. It is also the home to the Gulf Coast League Pirates during the summer.

The facility received a major facelift in 1993. The grounds include five practice fields, batting cages and even a three story building with dorms and offices. It is the southern home of the Pirates.

The Pirates keep the facility busy all year round with major and minor league baseball activity. But it is also available for rent for amateur events as well as corporate events.

Gulf Coast League Orioles

Sarasota, Florida: The Gulf Coast League Orioles are the rookie affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The GCL Orioles are in the southern division of the Gulf Coast League.

The club was originally founded in 1991. They won a division title in their first season but lost in the championship series. The team was later disbanded in 2003. In 2007 the GCL Orioles were reinstated and they are currently an active Orioles affiliate.

The GCL Orioles currently play at the Buck O’Neil Baseball Complex at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota, Florida. They played the 2010 season in the backfields of the Ed Smith Sports Complex while their complex underwent a major renovation.

Click on the photo above to view the GCL Orioles photo gallery.

Sarasota Reds vs Lakeland Flying Tigers

Sarasota, Florida: The Sarasota Reds and Lakeland Flying Tigers faced off in a pitchers duel on Saturday night at Ed Smith Stadium. Both pitching staffs went through the entire nine inning regulation period without allowing a run and it took fifteen innings to determine a winner. But when it was all over, over four hours later, the Reds walked off with a 3-2 victory.

Pitching was the name of the game tonight. Both staffs pitched 11 consecutive innings before allowing a run. It wasn’t until the fourth inning before a base hit was allowed. There was a total of 34 strikeouts combined between both clubs who used a total of thirteen pitcher in the game.

The Flying Tigers scored the first run of the game in the top of the twelfth inning. Justin Justice singled to third to put a runner on the bases. Justin would later score on an RBI single by Brandon Timm to take a 1-0 lead.

The Reds answered back with a run of their own in the home half of the inning. Carson Kainer singled to left and then later scored on an RBI single by Jake Long to tie the game and force another inning.

The Flying Tigers tried to end the game in the thirteenth inning when Ryan Streiby struck a solo home run to put them ahead again.

But like the inning before, the Reds matched runs again. This time Todd Frazier led off the inning with a double to left and later scored on an RBI single by Kainer to keep the game going.

The teams went scoreless again until the bottom of the fifteenth inning. That’s when the Reds offense struck with a solo home run off the bat of Frazier to earn the extra innings walk-off victory.

Joe Krebs was the Reds pitcher on the mound when the game ended and earned the win.

Click on the photo above to view the Reds/Flying Tigers game gallery.