sfoggi posted on July 01, 2011 22:51
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (July 1, 2011) – The Sanford River Rats rebounded from a brutal loss Tuesday night with a lopsided victory of their own as they defeated the Winter Haven Loggerheads 8-2 at Chain of Lakes Park Friday night.
“We came out tonight and played the game really well,” River Rats Head Coach Stephen Piercefield said. “We were able to execute when called upon, whether that was pitching, defense, or offense.”
The Rats’ offense got things going in the second inning after a TJ Gavlik (North Florida) double, an error on the Loggerheads’ third baseman, and a Ryan Woodrey (Nova Southeastern) single loaded the bases. Alex Mendez (South Florida) was hit by a pitch to put Gavlik across.
Sanford scored a more conventional run in the third. Dan Haverstick (Rhode Island) hit a stand-up double and crossed home on a Johnny Mazur (Florida Tech) single. The Rats kept it up in the fourth with another hit-by-pitch RBI. Blake Boyd (Nova Southeastern), Mendez and Pat Fortunato (Rhode Island) took consecutive walks to once again load the bases.
Boyd stole second, but had the wind knocked out of him sliding, and was replaced by Tyler Doughty (Florida Tech). Doughty crossed home on James Ramsay’s (South Florida) RBI hit-by-pitch. Haverstick hit a sacrifice fly to score Mendez to make it a 4-0 ballgame.
The Rats (7-10) continued to pour it on in the seventh. Ramsay scored on another Gavlik double before Gavlik came home on a Mazur single for a 6-0 score. The eighth inning saw two more Rats runs. Doughty scored a second run, this one on a wild pitch, and Mendez came home on a Ramsay single to make it 8-0.
“Offensively, it all came together and it never really stopped,” Piercefield said.
The Loggerheads (7-11) avoided a shutout in the home half of the eighth. Sean O’Brien (Florida State) scored on a Sam Halpern (Barry) double, and Halpern came home on a Nick Geary (Georgetown) sacrifice fly for the final runs of the game.
Sanford starter JR Edwards (Lehigh) earned the win after pitching six shutout innings. Edwards allowed just two hits, and zero hits going into the fourth.
“Edwards did a great job being able to battle around some of the defensive mistakes,” Piercefield said. “Our outfielders all contributed with some big time plays.”
Adam Maxon (Jacksonville) closed out the game for the Rats in the ninth with a strikeout and an assist on a 1-6-3 double play.
“It’s a bit of a luxury to have quality arms like that at the end of games,” Piercefield said.
The Rats will face Winter Haven Saturday in a doubleheader at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium. The first game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Taylor Smith and Ryan Heinz are the probable starters for Sanford.
“To keep your focus and your intensity up for 14 innings is always a tough task, but we’ve got quality pitchers tomorrow. Offensively, we’ve just got to stay in it every inning and battle the way we have been,” Piercefield said.
Neil Tredray (Valencia College)