LAKELAND, Fla. - The Miracle rallied to tie the game with three runs in the top of the ninth, but the Lakeland Flying Tigers walked off with one in the bottom half and took the rubber game of the series, 5-4, on Sunday afternoon at Publix Field. Zac Shepherd drew a
LAKELAND, Fla. - The Miracle rallied to tie the game with three runs in the top of the ninth, but the Lakeland Flying Tigers walked off with one in the bottom half and took the rubber game of the series, 5-4, on Sunday afternoon at Publix Field.
Zac Shepherd drew a leadoff walk against Miracle left-hander Alex Robinson and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Clark Brinkman. After Derek Hill struck out swinging, Cole Peterson hit a ground ball to the right side. Miracle second baseman Travis Blankenhorn dove to his left, but the ball bounced off his glove and Shepherd came around to score the winning run.
Down 3-0 entering the eighth inning, Caleb Hamilton put the Miracle on the board with an RBI single. Fort Myers left the bases loaded, however. They stranded 12 runners in the game and went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Lakeland added a run in the bottom of the eighth and took a 4-1 lead to the ninth. Taylor Grzelakowski delivered an RBI single to bring home one run. Miguel Sanó followed with a two-run double off the bottom of the wall in right center field to tie the game.
Grzelakowski went 3-for-4 in the game and finished the series 7-for-12. Royce Lewis, in just his second game with the Miracle, was 4-for-5 with four singles.
Fernando Perez (5-1) blew the save, but picked up the win for Lakeland. Alex Robinson (1-2) suffered the loss for the Miracle.
Jovani Moran tossed 3.1 innings out of the Miracle bullpen, allowed one run, and struck out four. Andro Cutura started for Fort Myers. The right-hander surrendered three runs (two earned) on seven hits in 4.2 innings. He walked one and struck out seven.
The Miracle return home Monday night to host the St. Lucie Mets in the opener of a three-game series at Hammond Stadium. Right-hander Clark Beeker (3-6) will start for the Miracle. First pitch is 7:00 p.m.
