Spring Training: Charlotte Stone Crabs at Frederick Keys

Sarasota, Florida: With the end of spring training fast approaching, the Charlotte Stone Crabs were in Sarasota to face the Frederick Keys during the final week of exhibition games. Matt Moore was on the mound for Charlotte in what looks to be his final start before the regular season begins. Minor league spring traning ends on April 3 with opening day on April 8.

For more photos from the game, visit my Stone Crabs/Keys photo gallery.

Gasparilla Island State Park

Boca Grande, Florida: Located on the southern tip of the private island of Boca Grande, Gasparilla Island State Park is a state park located on the Gulf of Mexico at the entrance to Charlotte Harbor. Since the late 1800’s, the two lighthouses that are located within the park have provided navigation to ships that navigate the shallow waters here. The park is a popular spot for fishing and shelling as well as Florida water sports.

Purchased by the State of Florida in 1983 and opened as a park in the park system, Gasparilla Island State Park contains miles of beachfront with several beach accesses. The clear warm Gulf of Mexico waters are a haven for sunbathers as well as wildlife. Many species of birds and animals call the park home including Osprey, Gulls, Terns, Iguanas, Tortoises and more. The waters are also home to a variety of sea life including dolphins, sharks and the popular sport fish Tarpon.

Anchoring the park at the southern tip is the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1890 at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor. It remained in operation until 1966. The lighthouse remained abandoned for twenty years before an effort to restore it and operate it as an museum.

The north end of the park is home to a second lighthouse, the Gasparilla Island Rear Range light. This lighthouse began its life in Delaware. It was decommissioned in Lewes, Delaware in 1918. It was then transported to Boca Grande and rebuilt, returning to operation here in 1932. The two lighthouses worked in conjunction to help ships enter Charlotte Harbor.

In addition to the beach activities, thousands of visitors flock to the offshore waters of the park to engage in tarpon fishing. At 80 feet in depth, the Boca Grande Pass is one of the deepest passes on the Gulf coast of Florida, providing for great fishing.

So whether you are looking to go fishing, observe wildlife, look for shells and sharks teeth or just bask in the Florida sun, Gasparilla Island State Park offers one stop that will entertain everyone in the family.

For photos from the park, visit my Boca Grande photo page.

Spring Training: Charlotte Stone Crabs at Frederick Keys

Sarasota, Florida: As the numbers of players on the major league roster dwindles down to opening day levels, the minor league rosters are beginning to shape up to opening day order as well. This was evident in the new faces in camp for the exhibition game between the Charlotte Stone Crabs and Frederick Keys at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota. Matt Moore was on the mound for the Stone Crabs as they took on the Keys. There were no official stats but below is a collection of photos from the contest.

For photos from the game, visit my Stone Crabs/Keys photo gallery.

Spring Training: Charlotte Stone Crabs vs Salem Red Sox

Port Charlotte, Florida: With the Tampa Bay Rays taking on the Minnesota Twins in Charlotte Sports Park, the minor league affiliates of the Rays and the Boston Red Sox were battling it out on the back fields of the complex. The Charlotte Stone Crabs and Salem Red Sox were facing each other in an exhibition contest. As with other minor league training games, no official stats were recorded and below is a collections of images from the game.

For photos from the game, visit my Stone Crabs/Red Sox photo gallery.

Salem Red Sox

Salem, Virginia: The Salem Red Sox are the Class-A Advanced affiliates of the Boston Red Sox. The Salem Sox play in the South Division of the Carolina League.

Minor league baseball has been a part of Salem history since 1957. Salem Red Sox franchise did not develop until the 2009 season when the player development contract with the Houston Astros expired following the 2008 season. Fenway Sports Group took over the club and a Boston Red Sox player development contract was quick to follow.

The Red Sox play their home games in Lewis-Gale Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark. They play a 140 game schedule with 70 games played at home.

The Salem Red Sox won the division title in their first season in 2009 but fell short in the league finals.

For photos of the club during spring training in Florida, visit my Salem Red Sox photo gallery.

Spring Training: Charlotte Stone Crabs at Frederick Keys

Sarasota, Florida: In preparation for the 2010 season, the minor league affiliates of the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles took to the fields in an exhibition game at Twin Lakes Park. The Charlotte Stone Crabs and Frederick Keys played a nine inning exhibition game Thursday afternoon under the Florida sunshine. Although no official stats were recorded below is a collection of images from the contest.

For photos from the game, visit my Stone Crabs/Keys photo gallery.

Frederick Keys

Frederick, Maryland: The Frederick Keys are the Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Keys are members of the Carolina League’s Northern Division.

The club was founded in 1989 when the club was moved to Frederick from Hagerstown. Since its inception, they have won three Carolina League titles (1990, 2005, 2007).

The Keys play their games at Harry Grove Stadium. The stadium was not completed until 1990, so the Keys played their first season at McCurdy Field, a Babe Ruth baseball complex.

The team name comes from a famous Maryland resident, Star Spangled Banner composer Francis Scott Key.

For photos from spring training in Florida, visit my Frederick Keys photo gallery.

Muskingum University and Skidmore College duel in doubleheader during 2010 Snowbird Classic

Port Charlotte, Florida: After heavy rains washed away Friday’s slate of games, Snowbird Classic baseball returned to action under sunny skies Saturday at North Charlotte Regional Park in Port Charlotte. The first game on the schedule was a doubleheader between the Muskingum University Fighting Muskies and the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds.

Game one of the doubleheader saw the Fighting Muskies take advantage of a few Skidmore miscues to win the game 8-1. Game two was a close contest with Skidmore squeaking away with a 5-4 win.

Game one started off with Muskingum taking the lead early in the first inning and never looked back. Wes Carder led off the inning with a walk. Then Erik Spitzer was hit by a pitch to put another runner on the bases. Carder advanced to third on a fly out by Brock Whiteman. Spitzer moved into scoring position by stealing second. Jared Whittington drove home the first run of the game by grounding out to third, allowing Carder to score on the play and give Muskingum a 1-0 lead.

It wasn’t until the top of the fourth inning before another run would cross the plate. This time it was Skidmore hitting the scoreboard. Matt Pisani drew a one out walk to get thing going, Zack Rudman drove him home with an RBI double to center field, scoring Pisani and tying the game 1-1.

Muskingum wasted no time in retaking the lead, striking for six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Brock Whiteman led off the inning with a solo home run to center field. Whittington reached base after being hit by a pitch, then advanced to second on a single by Tyler Hardcastle. With Derek Stork on the ropes, Skidmore decided to go to the bullpen and bring in Bobby Stafutti to try and pull them out of the hole. Nick Raymond advanced both of the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice to the pitcher. That’s when things starting getting worse for the Thoroughbreds. Defensive blunders caused by the pressure accounted for several more Muskies runs. Despite only one error officially being charged, the sloppy defense allowed five runs to score even though Stafutti was hitting the spot and getting the ground balls to try and get out of the inning. By the time the dust settled, Muskingum had a 7-1 lead.

The Fighting Muskies added another run in the sixth inning. Whiteman was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Hardcastle then drew a walk. Both runner advanced into scoring position following a wild pitch by Deven Bussey. Raymond plated the run with a sac fly to center that scored Whiteman and gave the Muskies the 8-1 win.

Sophomore Issac Free pitched a complete game for Muskingum, striking out 11 hitters enroute to his first win of the season. Derek Stork was charged with the loss for Skidmore.

Muskingum kicked off the second game right where they left off the in the first, striking for three runs right at the start. Carder tripled to center field to lead off the game. Spitzer followed with an RBI single to center to score Carder. Whiteman cleared the bases with his second home run of the doubleheader, a two run blast to give the Muskies a 3-0 lead.

Skidmore wasted no time reaching the scoreboard, posting two runs in the bottom of the first. Jake Mendell reached first after being hit by a pitch. Mendell moved to second on a single by Anthony Ferri. Both runners advanced on a ground out by Brian Lowry. Rudman plated both runs with a single to left field, pulling the Thoroughbreds to within a run of the lead 3-2.

Skidmore took the lead an inning later. Once again the inning got started with a hits batsman, this time it was Adam Cornachione getting hit. Leejay Pullacchi single to first, moving Cornachione to second. Then Matty Tatkow hit into a fielders choice, losing Cornachione at third on the play. The ensuing double steal moved both base runners into scoring position. Mendell followed hitting a ball to short that was misplayed allowing Pullacchi to score. Then another double steal, this time second and home, with Tatkow swiping home for the second run of the inning and giving Skidmore a 4-3 lead.

Muskingum battled back to tie the game in the fourth inning. Carder delivered a two out double to left center. Carder advanced to third on a balk call and later scored the tying on an RBI double by Spitzer.

The Thoroughbreds regained the lead to stay in the fifth inning. Lowry singled to left center with one to put a runner on the bases. Lowry stole second and then scored on an RBI single by Pisani, giving Skidmore the 5-4 victory.

Marcus Spencer recorded the win for Skidmore and Michael Congrove was charged with the loss for Muskingum.

With the split of the doubleheader, Muskingum moved to 4-4 on the season and Skidmore is 2-2. Skidmore continues play in the Snowbird Classing facing Kenyon College in a doubleheader on Sunday. Today was the final game in the classic for Muskingum as they return north to host the Muskingum Invitational March 20-21 and 26-28.

The Snowbird Classic continues through March 20 with several more action packed collegiate games scheduled before the clubs head back north to begin their conference games.

For more photos of the game, visit my Muskingum University/Skidmore College photo gallery.

Fairleigh Dickinson University falls to Duquesne University in the second game of the Buckeye Invitational

Punta Gorda, Florida: While their home states were dealing with freezing temperatures and above average snowfall, the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights and Duquesne Dukes were in Charlotte County, Florida enjoying warm temperatures and Florida sunshine. Both clubs were participating in the Buckeye Invitational as part of the 2010 Snowbird Baseball Classic taking place at the South Regional Park in Punta Gorda. The game featured plenty of excitement with the Dukes walking away with the 12-10 victory.

The Knights took to the field as the home team with sophomore Ray Courtney getting the start on the mound. Duquesne’s Andrew Heck delivered the first run of the game on a deep home run to right center. Following the home run, Courtney loaded the bases by hitting Rick Devereaux then walking Mark Tracy and Chris Kimmeth to load the bases. With his back to the wall and the bases loaded, Courtney failed to deliver strikes and walked Mike Ganley to score Devereaux and give the Dukes a 2-0 lead. After a brief mound visit, Courtney regained his confidence and recorded out number three to strand the remained three runners and get out of the inning without any further damage.

Fairleigh Dickinson took to the plate in the home half of the first inning to try and cut into the lead. Stephen La Forge got things going with a one out double. Sarasota’s own Brian Dillon then drew a walk to give the Knights runners on first and second. Dillon later beat the throw to the plate, scoring and pulling the Knights to within a run of the lead.

When the Dukes returned to the plate in the second, the offense picked up right where they left off. Derrik Zeroski led off the inning with a walk. Zeroski then stole second and advanced to third on a ground out by Matt Carson. Courtney issued another walk to Heck prior to Devereaux driving home a run with an RBI single. An error by FDU’s right fielder on the play led to a run scored by Zeroski scoring and Devereaux moving to second. Anthony DeFabio drew yet another walk before Kimmeth drove home two ruins with a single that scored Devereaux and Heck. After giving up six runs on three hits and allowing six walks, the Knights went to the bullpen and brought Matt Cadigan into the game to try and cool the Dukes offense. Cadigan’s first batter, Ganley delivered a two run double to increase the Duquesne lead to 6-1.

Fairleigh Dickinson chipped away at the lead little by little throughout the game beginning with the second inning. Scott Morrison singled to put a runner on the base path. Mike Eliasen followed with an RBI double to score Morrison.

FDU’s Cadigan walked Zeroski to lead off the third inning before getting Carson to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Heck then grounded out to third to end the inning and keep the Dukes from adding to the scoreboard.

The Knights added another run in the home half of the third inning. Joe Martino reached on an error with one out. Martino advanced to second on a ground out by Jonathan Torres and then to third on a single by Morrison. Eliasen plated the run with an RBI single to cut the lead in half 6-3.

Both clubs exchanged runs in the fourth inning. A solo home run by Tracy accounted for the Duquesne run. Fairleigh Dickinson earned its run on an sacrifice fly by Robinson to score Matt Holsman.

Fairleigh Dickinson inched closer in the fifth inning. Torres and Morrison led off the inning with back to back singles. Eliasen drove home Torres to add a run to the Knights total as the Knights trailed the Dukes 7-5.

After a scoreless sixth inning, the Knight’s relentless determination led to them taking the lead in the seventh inning. FDU took the lead by scoring five runs in the inning. The rally started with Torres and Morrison earning walks. Eliasen drove in the first run of the inning on an RBI single. Holsman plated two more runs with a ground ball to third that was misplayed leading to Morrison and Eliasen crossing the plate. Then a two run blast by La Forge ended the scoring drive with the Knights holding their first lead of the game 10-7.

Duquesne battled back in the top of the eighth inning to regain the lead. Back to back doubles by Heck and Devereaux started the inning. DeFabio drove home Devereaux with an RBI single. After a pitching change for the Knights, Kimmeth drew a walk to pit runners on first and second. A double steal by DeFabio and Kimmeth put both runners into scoring position for the Dukes. Ganley contributed to the rally with a sac fly to score DeFabio and advance Kimmeth to third. Kimmeth later scored on a wild pitch by Jonathan Scott to give Duquesne a one run lead, 11-10.

The Dukes added an insurance run in the ninth inning. Devereaux reached base after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He then advanced to second on a ground out by Tracy and then to third on a wild pitch by Craig Warner. Kimmeth plated the final run of the game on a ground ball back to the mound, giving the Dukes the 12-10 win.

With the win, the Dukes are 1-1 in the invitational and 3-8 on the season. The Knights fell to 1-1 in the invitational and 1-4 on the season.

For photos from the games, visit the Fairleigh Dickinson University/Duquesne University photo gallery.

John Carroll University and Juniata College split doubleheader during 2010 Snowbird Classic

Punta Gorda, Florida: Clear skies over South Florida led to a great day for base­ball Sun­day as the Juni­ata Col­lege Eagles took on the John Car­roll Blue Streaks in a dou­ble header as part of the 2010 Snow­bird Clas­sic at South Regional Park in Punta Gorda, Florida.

Both clubs split the dou­ble header, with Juni­ata win­ning Game One, 8–1, and John Car­roll tak­ing Game Two, 4–1.

Game One saw Juni­ata Col­lege take a com­mand­ing lead early and never look back, strik­ing gold with all eight of its runs before John Car­roll scored a lone run in the sev­enth inning.

Thanks to great pitch­ing and defense, the game remained a score­less tie until the fifth inning. At that point, Juni­ata earned three runs aided by two errors by John Carroll.

Evan Pap­pas got things started in the fifth with a one out sin­gle, then advanced to sec­ond on a stolen base. Pap­pas later scored on an RBI sin­gle by Kyle Sax­man for the first run of the game. Andrew Kriss then drove home two runs on a line drive triple to right giv­ing the Eagles a 3–0 lead.

Juanita car­ried that momen­tum into the sixth, col­lect­ing five more runs in the inning. Johnny Mar­tinez led off the inning with a dou­ble to left field. Gregg Hoff­man fol­lowed with a sin­gle over sec­ond base into shal­low cen­ter to put run­ners on the cor­ners with no outs. Rus­sell Gray drove in the first run with a force out that scored Mar­tinez. Later, Sax­man hit in two more runs with a dou­ble to left, and this before the Eagles picked up two more runs to end the inning and increase its lead to 8–0.

John Car­roll picked up its only run in the bot­tom of the sev­enth inning when Aaron Miller hit one down the third base line that scored Tim O’Brien. Juanita ral­lied to end the inning, how­ever, and take the 8–1 win in the first game.

Juni­ata pitcher Tyler Clif­ford looked strong in the win, strik­ing out eight bat­ters and allow­ing only two hits in six innings of work.

Game Two began shortly after the first and ended with an oppo­site result, this as John Car­roll came away with a 4–1 win.

The Blue Streaks took con­trol of the game in the top of the third as Ryan Kon­sler led off the inning with a triple down the line into left field. Kon­sler then scored one bat­ter on an error to give the Blue Streaks a 1–0 lead.

Juni­ata scored its lone run in the bot­tom of the fourth inning to tie the game. Hoff­man deliv­ered a dou­ble down the line to put a run­ner on base, but did not stay there long as he was dri­ven home on an RBI sin­gle by Cole Walters.

The Blue Streaks took back the lead an inning later, how­ever, with Kon­sler lead­ing the charge again, this time with a dou­ble to left field. Mike Carbo and John Hast­ings then drew walks to load the bases. Tim O’Brien reached on an error, scor­ing Kon­sler and leav­ing the bases loaded. John Skomra fol­lowed by draw­ing a bases-loaded walk to push across Carbo and increase John Carrol’s lead to 3–1.

John Car­roll added an insur­ance run in the top of the sixth inning as Zach Moss scored on a wild pitch to give the Blue Streaks the 4–1 mar­gin of victory.

The Snow­bird Clas­sic con­tin­ues through the end of March, with Juni­ata fac­ing Hei­del­berg Uni­ver­sity on Sunday.

Saturday’s game, mean­while, was John Carroll’s final game of the clas­sic, with the team now head­ing to Wash­ing­ton, Penn­syl­va­nia for the Wash­ing­ton and Jef­fer­son Invitational.

For photos from the game, visit my John Carroll University/Juniata College photo gallery.

Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles

Sarasota, Florida: The Tampa Bay Rays opened up the 2010 spring training season with a 12-2 loss against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. A strong breeze out of the ball park aided in a combined seven home runs during the contest. Six of the home runs came from the bats of Baltimore as the wind blowing out to right aided the predominantly left handed lineup of the Orioles.

The Orioles drew first blood with a solo home run by Josh Bell off Matt Garza in the third inning. They then posted two more runs in the fourth inning off Dale Thayer to increase the lead to 3-0.

The Rays reached the scoreboard in the top of the fifth. Kelly Shoppach led off the inning with a single to short. Shoppach advanced to second on a ground out by Ryan Shealy then moved to third on a wild pitch. Reid Brignac struck an RBI single that scored Shoppach and pulled the Rays to within two runs of the lead. Baltimore matched the run in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run by Nick Markakis to give the Orioles a 4-1 lead.

Baltimore struck again the bottom of the sixth inning with back to back homers. Former Rays minor leaguer Rhyne Hughes struck a two run homer to right. Josh Bell followed with his second home run of the afternoon with a solo home run to left to increase the lead to 7-1.

Tampa Bay picked up their only home run of the slugfest in the top of the seventh inning. Sean Rodriguez came into the game and delivered a solo home run to left field for the second and final run of the contest for the Rays.

But it wasn’t long for the Orioles to strike again and once again with the long ball. Scott Moore got thing started with a solo home run to right. Chad Moeller then drew a walk and later scored on an RBI single by Jonathan Tucker. Rhyne Hughes followed with his second home run of the game, a two run shot to give the Orioles a 11-2 lead.

Baltimore picked up their final run of the game in the eighth inning. Matt Angle led off the inning with a free pass after being hit by a pitch. Angle later scored on an RBI double by Lou Montanez to give the Orioles the 12-2 margin of victory.

For more pictures from the game, visit my Rays/Orioles game gallery.