2017 Year In Review: Second-Half

Let's look back at the 2017 season with the second in our Year In Review series.
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Editor's Note - We will be publishing a series of "Year in Review" stories that look at each half, position groups, and some of the best moments and promotions from the 2017 season. This is the second in this series.
Previously - First Half In Review
Another no-hitter and several record-breaking efforts highlighted the second half of the season for the BlueClaws.
The second half, however, did not pick up where the first half left off. After the BlueClaws won the final six games of the first half to just miss the post-season, Lakewood went to Delmarva to open the second half and were promptly swept in a four-game series.
On June 26th, Ranger Suárez, in a game that was lost among two Nick Fanti no-hitters when looking at some of the best games pitched by a BlueClaw this year, retired the first 23 hitters he faced in a 6-0 win over Greensboro. Grasshoppers catcher Jarrett Rindfleisch singled on a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the eighth inning, ending both the no-hitter and perfect game bid by the Lakewood left-hander. Suarez, as it turned out, would make only one more start as a BlueClaw. He threw seven scoreless innings against Hagerstown on July 2nd and was promoted to Clearwater from there.
Suarez's fellow left-hander, 20-year old JoJo Romero, had been promoted the week before after going 5-1 with a 2.11 ERA.
The BlueClaws made a series of roster moves on July 4th that would impact the team for the rest of the season. Outfielders Juan Luis and Jesus Alastre joined the BlueClaws from Williamsport, while infielder Raul Rivas re-joined the BlueClaws. Rivas had been sent to the Crosscutters after playing the last six weeks of the first half with Lakewood. While Luis was returned to the Penn League at the end of July, Rivas and Alastre were key players over the remainder of the season. Alastre, a 20 year old, hit .307 in 43 games while Rivas hit .282 with 10 stolen bases and proved a vital fill-in at second base, shortstop, and third base for the BlueClaws.
On July 9th, Nick Fanti threw seven scoreless innings to earn his sixth win of the season. While it was a great outing, one of many for the young left-hander, it would pale in comparison to his next start. The BlueClaws had lost a very tough game on July 16th, where Blake Rutherford hit a two-run, two-out home run off Will Hibbs in the top of the ninth inning to give Charleston a 2-1 win over the BlueClaws.
Fanti then went out, after Lakewood had won dropped two straight, and managed to top his May 6th game in Columbia with a brilliant performance in a no-hitter against the RiverDogs. He retired the first four hitters he faced, then walked one, and set aside the next 23 to complete the sixth no-hitter in team history. Further, it was the first time that a BlueClaws pitcher had thrown a nine-inning no-hitter in a win - Gavin Floyd threw a nine-inning no-hitter against Lexington in 2002 but made an error that led to a 1-0 loss. In this case, Henri Lartigue's home run in the second inning stood up as the game's lone run and Fanti made history.

The BlueClaws had their quickest game - Fanti's no-hitter took 1 hour and 47 minutes - immediately followed by their longest bus ride - a 15 hour trip to Rome, Georgia to take on the Braves. There, Lakewood had to play a double-header to make up a game that had been rained out in New Jersey the week before. After dropping the first game on July 20th, they sent Gustavo Armas to the mound for his BlueClaws debut. The only problem? At 5:30, with game one in the second inning, Armas hadn't yet arrived at the park. He flew down from Williamsport earlier that day and was in a car to the park from the Atlanta airport. He finally arrived, said hello to pitching coach Brian Sweeney, who had made a quick visit to the clubhouse, and then threw 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts to earn the win.
After adding to the roster on July 4th, the BlueClaws did so again as they made their way to Greensboro for a three-game series starting August 31st. Over the three days there, they would add their first two position players out of the 2017 draft in catcher Colby Fitch (13th round, Louisville) and outfielder Austin Listi (17th round, Dallas Baptist). Listi, in fact, hit two home runs in his second game as a BlueClaw, the August 1st win at Greensboro.
The BlueClaws came home on August 3rd five games back and needed a big weekend. They delivered, taking three of four from Hagerstown including two walk-off wins. Daniel Brito's three-run triple gave the BlueClaws a 5-4 win over the Suns on August 3rd, and after the teams split the next two, Raul Rivas singled home Jesus Alastre in another walk-off win on August 6th.
Tweet from @tonygsports: Daniel Brito 3-run double B9 wins it for Lakewood (Greg Giombarrese) pic.twitter.com/8fmDbaxwLK
Unfortunately, after cutting the deficit to four games, that would be as close as the BlueClaws would get to the top of the standings. A 2-5 road trip to West Virginia and Delmarva dropped them to eight games back, but there were still a few more big moments over the final few weeks of the season.
The biggest came in a 14-4 win at Hagerstown on August 23rd in which Darick Hall broke both the BlueClaws single-season home run and RBI records in a two home run, seven RBI game. Hall broke Jose Pujols' home run mark of 24 from 2016 and Randy Ruiz's RBI mark of 91 set originally in 2004. The seven RBIs also tied the club single-game RBI record.

Hall would later be named South Atlantic League MVP and the first baseman on the post-season All-Star team. He was the first BlueClaw to win league MVP.
Joining Hall on the league's All-Star team was reliever Will Hibbs, who returned to the BlueClaws in July after a few weeks in Clearwater and led the league with 20 saves, becoming just the second BlueClaw to reach the 20 save plateau.
BlueClaws fans also got to see two first-round picks on the field at the same time, with 2017 first-rounder Adam Haseley (8th overall) joining 2016 first-rounder Mickey Moniak (1st overall) for the final three weeks of the season. Haseley, who spent the bulk of his first professional season with Williamsport, hit .258 with a home run in his 18 games with the BlueClaws.

Lakewood also sent several pitchers up to Clearwater, and got quality starts at the end of the season from Felix Paulino (6 ER in his last 33 IP) and Maurico Llovera. Adonis Medina, who spent the whole year with the BlueClaws, gave up just 11 earned runs in his final nine starts of the year. The BlueClaws also got two quality starts for Alejandro Requena, who gave up two earned runs in 11 innings after coming over from the Rockies in July's trade of Pat Neshak.
Arquimedes Gamboa, meanwhile, finished the season on a 14-game hitting streak and hit .327 from August 1st through the end of the season. The 19-year old was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Month for August.
While the BlueClaws were not in playoff contention, they did finish the season on a four-game winning streak, taking one from West Virginia and three from Kannapolis. The BlueClaws also managed to do one thing that almost never happens - ending the season on a walk-off home run. Austin Listi went deep in the bottom of the 12th inning on Labor Day to give the BlueClaws a season-ending win.
Tweet from @tonygsports: Austin Listi walks off season finale for Lakewood (Greg Giombarrese) pic.twitter.com/0Icf6IlwJc
The final second-half record of 33-36 might not have been exactly what the BlueClaws wanted, but they certainly ended the season in style.
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