Stone Crabs fend off Hammerheads 6-2

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (July 20, 2018) - Six Stone Crabs recorded multiple hits Friday as Charlotte held off the Jupiter Hammerheads 6-2 at Charlotte Sports Park.
Jupiter (52-45, 11-17) got the tying run to third base in both the fifth and seventh inning but the Stone Crabs' (50-46, 16-13) bullpen pitched out of a pair of jams.
Charlotte got the scoring going immediately Friday. After Lucius Fox singled and Robbie Tenerowicz walked, Tristan Gray drove home Fox with a sacrifice fly to give the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Rene Pinto singled home Tenerowicz to make it 2-0.
After the Hammerheads got a run back in the top of the third, Fox pulled a home run to right center to put Charlotte up 3-1.
After two hits and a walk, Jupiter plated a run on a James Nelson single in the fifth to make it 3-2 in the fifth.
Still leading by one in the bottom of the eighth, Josh Lowe and Tenerowicz both singled to start the inning. With one out, Jesús Sánchez pulled a base hit to right to make it 4-2 Stone Crabs. Pinto then dropped down a squeeze bunt to chase home Tenerowicz and bring the count to 5-2. Jake Fraley followed with an RBI single to right to cap the scoring at 6-2.
Charlotte starter Kenny Rosenberg (8-1) allowed two runs on five hits over five innings to earn the win, striking out six. He becomes the sixth pitcher in the Florida State League to reach the eight-win plateau.
Left-hander Ivan Pelaez worked two perfect innings while striking out three to earn the save.
The Stone Crabs will go for the series win at 6:05 p.m. Saturday. Josh Fleming (0-1, 4.50) makes the start for Charlotte against Jorge Guzman (0-6, 3.18) of the Hammerheads. Coverage starts at 5:50 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.