Legends errors help Sand Gnats win 6-3

The Savannah Sand Gnats scored six runs on four hits Thursday evening at Grayson Stadium. Lexington Legends committed five errors and their three pitchers had four wild pitches.
The first inning saw the Legends score their three runs on two singles and two doubles.
In the first inning, the Sand Gnats scored two runs: Pedro Zapata reached first on an error and Wilmer Flores hit his third home run of the season to left field.
Savannah scored their third run in the 5th without a hit when Pedro Zapata walked, reached third on two wild pitches and scored on an error.
In the 6th inning, the Gnats scored two runs without a hit on a walk, batter hit by pitch, wild pitch, a throwing error by the pitcher and a throwing error by the second baseman.
The final Gnat run was scored in the 8th, when Cesar Puello singled, reached third on a stolen base and an error and stole home.
Starting Sand Gnat pitcher, Jimmy Fuller, pitched 5 innings, gave up 3 runs on 7 hits. John Church(1-0) got the win pitching 2.2 innings and gave up 4 hits and no runs. Michael Powers earned the save pitching 1.1 innings allowed no hits and no runs with 1BB.
The 1,919 fans saw the Sand Gnats steal 6 bases.

Sand Gnats 4 Lexington Legends 1

The Lexington Legends were at Grayson Stadium Wednesday evening to play the first game of the four game series with the Savannah Sand Gnats. The 1,126 fans saw good pitching from both teams.
The first run of the game was scored by the Gnats when Cesar Puello made a bunt single, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher. He scored on a sac fly to center by Alonso Harris.
Lexington scored their only run to tie the game in the 6th inning when Jose Altuve singled and scored on a double by J.D. Martinez.
Savannah took the lead in the 6th: Wilmer Flores tripled to left field and scored on a single by Jefry Marte. In the 8th inning the Gnats scored their final two runs with out a hit thanks to a base on ball, an error, and a wild pitch.
Starting Legends pitcher, Tanner Bushue, went six innings, gave up 2 runs on 8 hits,2BB, and struck out five. Baseball America Prospect Handbook(2010) ranks Bushue as the 7th best prospect in the Houston Astros organization.
Armando Rodriquez (1-3)was impressive for the Gnats winning his first game of the year. He pitched 62/3 innings, allowed 1 run on 5 hits, walked two and struck out seven.
The Sand Gnats had 9 hits for the game: Wilmer Flores went 3-for-4 with a run scored and Jefry Marte was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Crawdads(Velazquez) edge Sand Gnats 4-3

The final game of the four game series between the Hickory Crawdads and the Savannah Sand Gnats was played Tuesday evening at Grayson Stadium.
Miguel Velazquez cf drove in all four runs for the Crawdads. In the 3rd inning he hit a home run to left field to drive in two runs and in the 5th inning he hit a double over the center fielders head to drive in two runs.
The Sand Gnats scored their three runs on 4 hits. Pedro Zapata led off the game with a walk and was followed by a Juan Lagares home run to left field. Cesar Puello led off the 5th inning with a double, stole third, and scored on a ground out by Alonso Harris. Gnats 2 other hits were by Wilmer Flores in the 8th and Jefry Marte in the nineth.
Starting Sand Gnat pitcher, Darin Gorski(1-1) took the loss. In 5 innings of work, he gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, 4BB, and six strikeouts. Reliever Taylor Whitenton pitched 4 innings and did not allow a run or hit, struck out 5, and hit one batter.

Crawdads win slugfest wtih Sand Gnats 11-2

Monday evening at Grayson Stadium 1,623 fans saw the Hickory Crawdads out hit the first place Savannah Sand Gnats 18 to 11 and outscore the Gnats 11 to 2.
Hickory scored two runs in the 2nd on a home run by Christian Santana and scored 4 runs in the 3rd-Vincent DiFazio hit a two run homer. In the 4th the Crawdads scored two runs-Edward Koncel hit a home run to start the inning.
The Sand Gnats scored their first run in the 5th when Alex Gregory doubled and scored when Juan Lagares hit a double. The final run for the Gnats came in the 5th when Jeff Flagg, who went 1-for-3, hit a towering home run to left-center field-it was the first Sand Gnat home run at Grayson Stadium this season.
Crawdads shortstop, Leury Garcia, was 3-for-6 and he made several outstanding plays at shortstop. Baseball America Prospect Handbook(2010) ranks Garcia as the 15 best prospect in the Texas Rangers organization.
The Sand Gnats had 11 hits for the game, but also made the same number of errors the Crawdads made in yesterdays game, six. Juan Lagares hit two doubles and was 2-for-5, Alex Gregory was 2-for-4, and Cesar Puello went 2-for-4.
Starting Sand Gnat pitcher, Brandon Moore took the loss. He gave up 6 runs on 6 hits in 3 innings of work. Lance Hoge in relief pitched 2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits. Collin McHugh pitched 4 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits.

Sand Gnats rally in the 9th to beat Crawdads 6-5

Fans(996) saw an exciting game between the Hickory Crawdads and the 1st place Savannah Sand Gnats at Grayson Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It was the 2nd game of the four game series.
Sand Gnat starting pitcher, Mark Cohoon, went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs, 1BB, and struck out six. He entered the game with a record of(3-0) and was not involved in the decision.
Hickory scored in the 6th when Cody Padraza singled and Miguel Velazquez hit a home run to left against the wind. Velazquez is rated as the 22 best prospect in the Texas Rangers organization by the Baseball America Prospect Handbook(2010).
In the 7th, Hickory scored their 3rd run and in the 9th they took the lead for the first time in the game when they scored 2 runs on 3 hits.
The Sand Gnats scored three runs in the first:Pedro Zapata walked, Juan Lagares singled. After a throwing error, Wilmore Flores single driving two runs. Jeff Flagg singled. Flores scored on a ground out by Dock Doyle.
The Gnats scored a run in the 4th inning.
Down 5-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, Savannah scored 2 runs. With the bases loaded, Jeff Flagg hit a line drive to deep center field over the center-fielders head, to drive in the winning run
The Gnats had 11 hits for the game and capitalized on 6 errors made by the Crawdads. Dock Doyle was 2-for-4, Alex Gregory was 3-for-4,Pedro Zapata was 2-for-4, and Jeff Flagg went 2-for-5.

Sand Gnats beat Crawdads in opener 4-2

The first game of the four game series between the Hickory Crawdads and the 1st place Savannah Sand Gnats was played Saturday evening at Grayson Stadium before 1,900 fans.
Crawdads starting left handed pitcher, Robbie Ross, is ranked by Baseball America Prospect Handbook(2010) as the 7th best prospect in the Texas Rangers organization. He was signed out of high school in Lexington, Ky. in 2008(2nd round) and signed for a bonus of $1,575 million. Ross gave up four runs in five innings of work.
Sand Gnat starter, Jimmy Fuller, had another impressive outing. He pitched 8 innings, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits, struck out 9, and walked one. His record is 3-1 with an ERA of 1.26.
Hickory started the game with three consecutive singles, and scored their only two runs in the first on 4 hits.
In the 4th, Sand Gnats scored 3 runs: Jefry Marte walked to start the inning and advanced to third on a single by Kai Gronauer, Cesar Puello singled to score Marte. Gronauer scored on a ground out by Alex Gregory. Puello scored on a double by Alonzo Harris.
The Sand Gnats scored their final run in the 5th when Wilmer Flores doubled and scored on a Ground out by Kai Gronauer.
The Gnats had 9 hits for the game. Wilmer Flores continued his hot hitting with 2 doubles and went 2-for-4 and scored a run. Caesar was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Pedro Zapata hit a single and a double and was 2-for-4.

Tobi Stoner pitches in relief for the Mets

Sunday evening I watched the New York Mets play the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis on ESPN. Because of the 20 inning game Saturday, the Mets called up Tobi Stoner from the Buffalo Bisons(AAA) to help their bullpen.
Stoner entered the game in the 6th,pitched 21/3 innings, gave up 3 hits(2 of the hits were doubles), and walked one.
Fans remember Stoner when he was a starting pitcher for the Savannah Sand Gnats during the 2007 season. He appeared in 11 games, IP 57.1, K50, hits 59, HR1, ERA3.61. and won 3 games and lost 5 games.

Sand Gnats win first game on the Road.

The Savannah Sand Gnats played their first road game Friday evening in Rome and beat the Rome Braves, 4-1.
The Gnats scored two runs in the first when Rafael Fernandez hit a triple scoring two runs. In the third inning Fernandez drove in his 3rd run with a sacrifice fly.
Sand Gnats collected 7 hits. Juan Lagares DH, had a triple and went 3for3 and scored a run.
Starting Sand Gnat pitcher, Collin McHugh, picked up the win and improved his record to(1-1). He pitched 5 innings and gave up 1 run on 4hits and walked3. Brandon Moore pitched 4 innings in relief, struck out4, allowed 4 hits and no runs.

Sand Gnats 4, GreenJackets 1.

The final game of the 4 game series was played Thursday evening at Grayson Stadium. The Savannah Sand Gnats avoided the sweep by beating the Augusta GreenJackets 4-1.
Augusta had 6 hits for the game and scored their only run in the 5th when cHector Sanchez walked and scored on a triple by cf Evan Crawford, who was 2for4. Ryan Cavan went 2for4.
The Sand Gnats scored their first run in the 1st-Rafael Fernandez drew a walk, advanced to third on a Wilmore Flores single. Jeff Flagg hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Fernandez. Sand Gnats scored 2 runs in the 2nd and 1 run in the 5th.
Wilmore Flores entered the game for the Gnats hitting .333, hit two singles and was 2for3 with 1RBI. He raised his average to .364.
Starting Sand Gnat pitcher, Mark Cahoon, with the win, improved his record to (2-0) and now has an ERA of 0.77. He pitched 6 innings, gave up 1 run on 3hits, walked 2, and struck out 5.
John Church, Erik Turgeon, and Brandon Sage pitched in relief-each worked one inning and combined they allowed 2 hits and no runs.
The announced attendance was 1,918.

Sand Gnats lose heartbreaker to GreenJackets, 1-0

On a cool Wednesday evening at Grayson Stadium, the Augusta GreenJackets edged the Savannah Sand Gnats 1-0 in front of 613 fans.
The GreenJackets scored the only run of the game in the 3rd inning. Hector Sanchez, catcher, hit a double for the GreenJackets. A pitch got away from catcher Kai Gronauer, bounced off the backstop back to Gronauer and he threw to third base to catch the runner. The ball sailed into left field and the runner scored.
The Sand Gnats had 4 hits for the game. Kai Gronauer hit a double, which was almost a home run to left field, and was 2for3. Jeff Flagg singled in the 2nd and Rafael Fernandez singled in the 9th.
Starting Gnat pitcher, Jimmy Fuller, looked great again in his second outing, pitching 8 innings, giving up 1 run, on 4hits, and struck out 9. Michael Power in relief in the 9th, recorded three outs and struck out one.
In the 8th inning, Gnats right fielder, Cesar Puello, made two terrific catches-one was a running catch towards the infield and the other ball he caught in the right field corner.

GreenJackets beat Sand Gnats in second game of series,8-3

The Augusta GreenJackets scored 8 runs on 11 hits to defeat the Savannah Sand Gnats Tuesday evening at Grayson Stadium before 859 fans. Six of their hits were doubles.
The GreenJackets scored their first run in the first when Cavan doubled, stole second, and scored on a sac fly by Anders. Augusta scored 1 run in the 4th, 4runs in the 5th, 1 run in the 6th, and 1 run in the 9th.
The Sand Gnats banged out 13 hits and left 11 men on base. Zapata had two singles and went 2for4, Flores was 3for5 with a run scored, Flagg hit a triple and was was 2for5 with a run scored and a RBI, Puello was 2for3, Harris hit a triple,scored a run and was 2for4, and Gronauer doubled in the 8th to score Flagg for the final Gnats run.
Starting Sand Gnats pitcher, Armando Rodriquez, went 42/3 innings and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits,4K, 2BB, and 1 WP.

Greenjackets shut out Sand Gnats 2-0

The Augusta Greenjackets pitchers limited the Savannah Sand Gnats to 5 hits in the 1st game of the 4 game series Monday evening at Grayson Stadium.
Starting Greenjacket pitcher, Kyle Vasquez, pitched 6 innings, allowed 3 hits, 0BB, 0 runs, and struck out eight.
In the 2nd inning, Greenjacket 3b, Chris Dominquez, hit a solo ,home run to left-center field. According to Baseball America Prospect Handbook(2010), Dominquez is rated as the 18th best player in the San Francisco Giants organization.
The Greenjackets scored their second run in the 3rd, when DH Nick Liles tripled and scored on a single by Ryan Cavan.
Sand Gnat outfielder, Rafael Fernandez hit 3 singles and was 3for4.
Taylor Whitenton, starting Gnat pitcher, struggled with his control and it seemed he had a 3-2 count on most of the batters. He pitched 31/3 innings and gave up two runs on 4hits.
The Gnats bullpen was outstanding not allowing a run for 52/3 innings. John Church struck out one batter in 12/3 innings and did not allow a hit. Darin Gorski pitched 4 innings and struck out 8 and gave up 1 hit.

Power avoid sweep, beat Sand Gnats, 6-1

The West Virginia Power scored early in the final game of the 4 game series with the Savannah Sand Gnats Sunday afternoon at Grayson Stadium.
In the 1st inning, Power cf Evan Chambers, hit a three run home run to left field. Chambers is listed as the 23rd best prospect for the Pirates by Baseball America Prospect Handbook(2010).
The Sand Gnats scored their only run in the first inning: Pedro Zapata reached first base on an error and stole second base. He advanced to third on a fly out by Flores and scored when Juan Lagares singled.
Power third baseman Jesus Brito hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.
In the 6th inning, Power first baseman Kyle Morgan hit a two run homer over the right field fence.
Starting Sand Gnat pitcher, Collin McHugh, took the loss, pitching 3innings, giving up 4 hits, 3runs, 1BB, 1K.
Dock Doyle, catcher, made his first start of the year for the Sand Gnats and hit two singles and was 2-4.

Sand Gnats 4, West Virginia Power 0.

The 2,399 fans at Grayson Stadium watched the Savannah Sand Gnats Saturday evening shut out the West Virginia Power for the second game in a row.
The Sand Gnats scored three runs in the 4th inning:Wilmer Flores doubled and scored when the second baseman bobbled Juan Lagares infield hit. Cesar Puello singled and Lagares scored when the shortstop could not field the ground ball hit by Kai Gronauer. A single by Luis Rivera scored Puello.
The Gnats scored their final run in the 8th when Jeff Flagg hit a line drive to deep center field for a triple and he scored when the next batter, Juan Lagares singled.
Starting Gnats pitcher, Mark Cohoon, pitched 52/3 innings giving up 4hits, 2BB, 3 strike outs, and no runs allowed. Michael Powers faced one batter in relief followed by Brandon Moore who pitched three innings and struck out 5, and did not allow a hit.
Juan Lagares was 3-4 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI.

Sand Gnats win Home Opener

The Savannah Sand Gnats opened their season at Grayson Stadium Thursday evening against the West Virgina Power. The 3,539 fans saw the Gnats score 9 runs on 13 hits.
Pedro Zapata led off the first inning for the Gnats with a triple and would score on a ground out.
In the third inning, Wilmer Flores singled followed by a double by Jeff Flagg-both would score on a double by Juan Lagares.
The Gnats scored two runs in the 5th, two runs in the 6th, and two runs in the 8th.
Wilmer Flores had three singles and was 3-5 with two scored runs. Jeff Flagg had a double and two singles and was 3-4 and scored two runs.
Sand Gnat starting pitcher, Armando Rodriquez, pitched 4 innings, striking out 5 and he gave up one unearned run in the first inning.
Lance Hoge picked up the win in relief.
Final score-Savannah Sand Gnats 9, West Virgina Power 3 in a rain delayed contest.

Sand Gnats 4, SCAD 0.

The Savannah College of Arts and Design played the Savannah Sand Gnats in an exhibition game Wednesday evening at Grayson Stadium.
Sand Gnat starting pitcher Taylor Whitenton, looked good, striking out three and allowing no runs for two innings.
Lead off hitter for the Gnats, Pedro Zapata, hit a double to right field, would advance to third and scored on a sac fly by Wilmer Flores.
The Sand Gnats scored three more runs to win the game, 4-0.
I was curious to know which baseball was being used for the game- the college ball with high seams or the pro ball used in the SAL league. Before the game I asked SCAD Head Coach, Doug Wollenburg, which baseball was being used for the exhibition game and he replied the "baseball used by the Sand Gnats in the SAL."
It is interesting to note that the starting third baseman for the Gnats was not Jefry Marte, but Luis Rivera.