Stone Crabs fall out of first with 2-1 loss

FORT MYERS, Fla. (August 16, 2018) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs were held to just three hits in a 2-1 loss at Hammond Stadium Thursday, ending a 39-day stretch in first place.
Charlotte (65-54, 31-21) had led the FSL South since July 7, but this week's four-game series in Fort Myers allowed the Miracle (60-61, 32-21) to track them down.
Stone Crabs starter Brian Shaffer (1-1) turned in a quality start in defeat, allowing just two runs on five hits over six innings.
With the game scoreless in the top of the second, Jake Fraley pulled a double into the right field corner. After a groundout moved him to third, Rene Pinto drove him in with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 1-0 Charlotte.
With the score the same in the bottom of the second, Alex Kirilloff doubled to the left field corner before the next two batters flew out. With two outs, Ben Rortvedt pulled an RBI double to the right center field gap to tie the game at one.
Still tied in the bottom of the fourth, Taylor Grzelakowski singled on a comebacker before a walk pushed him to second. With one out, Jose Miranda doubled to the left field corner to score Grzelakowski and give Fort Myers a 2-1 lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Shaffer pitched out of trouble to keep the score at 2-1.
The Stone Crabs return home Friday to begin a three-game series with the Palm Beach Cardinals. Coverage starts at 6:20 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.