Fire Frogs and Stone Crabs Split Thursday Double Header to Close Season

PORT CHARLOTTE, FLA.: With Hurricane Dorian forcing an abrupt end to Florida and the FSL's season, the Fire Frogs split a double header with the Charlotte Stone Crabs, winning, 3-2, in game one and falling, 4-1, in game two, on Thursday evening at Charlotte Sports Park.

Game 1: RHP Matt Hartman nearly spun his third complete game in his last five starts. He fired 6 and 2/3's innings, scattering nine hits, two earned runs, four walks, and fanned three. RHP Daysbel Hernandez would enter in the bottom of the seventh to get the final out and collect his seventh save.
Zacrey Law drove in the first tally of the contest with an RBI groundout against Hartman in the second to get Charlotte on the board first, 1-0.
Then Andy Wilkins entered the picture offensively. He swatted his third homer as a Fire Frog off RHP Drew Strotman in the fourth to tie the contest at 1.
Strotman received a no-decision, allowing one run on three hits across five frames.
Florida went ahead on a sacrifice fly in the sixth from Wilkins, plating Langhorne to make it 2-1.
Langhorne would notch a sacrifice fly of his own in the seventh for an important insurance tally, plating Kevin Josephina; 3-1 Fire Frogs.
Langhorne slashed 2-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Shean Michel had the other two-hit game for Florida, his third multi-hit effort in his last five assignments.
The first three men reached against Hartman in the seventh to load the bases full of Stone Crabs. Niko Hulsizer grounded into a twin killing to get two quick outs, but a run scoring on the play to make it 3-2. After a walk to Joey Roach, Hernandez came in for Hartman and struck out Garrett Whitley to end the game.
Top MiLB prospect Wander Franco was 3-4. Kaleo Johnson also went 2-3 for the Stone Crabs.
RHP Ryan Sherriff (0-1) took the loss, surrendering two hits and a run. RHP Trey Cumbie also yielded two hits and a run in the seventh.  
Game 2: RHP Brooks Wilson (4-3) was saddled with the setback while going the distance. He permitted eight hits and three earned runs with five strikeouts over six innings.
The complete game from Wilson added to the Fire Frogs MiLB-leading total which now stands at 11, five more than any other Minor League team.
A single from Connor Hollis and a double from Ronaldo Hernandez started the Stone Crabs offensive attack in the first. A sacrifice fly from Moises Gomez brought in Hollis for the first tally of the game, 1-0.
A one-out walk to Jefrey Ramos and a single from Zack Soria put runners on for Jordan Rodgers in the second. He delivered with an RBI single off RHP Simon Rosenblum-Larson to even the game at 1.
Soria swatted 2-3, finishing the season going 5-7 over his final two games. The Fire Frogs were held to just three hits in the night cap.
The Stone Crabs pieced together three baserunners each in the fifth and the sixth to extend their lead. Michael Smith and Zach Rutherford climbed aboard ahead of Jake Palomaki, who doubled in both to bump the lead to 3-1. A sixth-inning RBI single from Rutherford ballooned the advantage to 4-1.
Palomaki and Rutherford notched multi-hit efforts for the Stone Crabs in game two.
Rosenblum-Larson hurled three stanzas of one-run, two-hit baseball to start the contest. RHP Carlos Garcia (1-0) earned his first Advanced-A win, walking one and fanning three over seven outs. RHP Cristofer Ogando picked up his second save, working around a hit and a walk to set down the final four Fire Frogs.
Game 2 Box Score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/fire-frogs-vs-stone-crabs/2019/08/29/572485#game_state=final,game_tab=boxscore,game=572485
NEXT UP: With the impending arrival of Hurricane Dorian to the state, the Florida State League has cancelled all remaining regular season contests that were supposed to be played Friday-Sunday. The postseason contests have been cancelled as well. Florida was originally scheduled to begin their final series against the Palm Beach Cardinals in Jupiter at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Friday evening.
The Florida Fire Frogs again want to extend our gratitude to Osceola County for three amazing years. We wish for the safety of all Floridians and everyone else who will be affected by Dorian.
About the Florida Fire Frogs
The Florida Fire Frogs are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and compete in the Florida State League. The Fire Frogs play their home games at Osceola County Stadium, located at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla. For more information, please visit www.FloridaFireFrogs.com, and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.