Rats' Rally is Too Little, Too Late

Read this article at the FCSL website.

SANFORD, Fla. (June 19, 2011) – Despite a four-run ninth inning, the Sanford River Rats fell to the DeLand Suns 8-6 at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium Sunday night.

The River Rats entered the ninth inning down 8-2, but quickly energized the fans as Ryan Woodrey (Nova Southeastern) walked, followed by Tyler Doughty (Florida Tech) and Blake Boyd (Nova Southeastern) both singling to load the bases with no outs. Pat Fortunato (Rhode Island) then hit a two-RBI double to score Woodrey and Doughty to cut the lead in half, 8-4. TJ Gavlik (North Florida) then singled to score Boyd, followed by a James Ramsey (South Florida) groundout that scored Fortunato.

With the score now 8-6, one out, and a runner in scoring position, Dan Haverstick (Rhode Island) represented the tying run, but he flied out to centerfield. Johnny Mazur (Florida Tech) was then the last hope for Sanford, but a pop-up to shortstop ended the rally and the game.

“It’s always frustrating to lose, but it’s one of those where the guys kept battling and putting up runs,” River Rats Head Coach Stephen Piercefield said. “Another game where we had a chance; we had the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning. Offensively, we were able to score six runs on 10 hits. Defensively, we were relatively solid. We got another solid effort by the bullpen. Adam Maxon came in and gave us a lift, so did Adam Albers. Flipped up some zeros and gave us a chance to stay in the game.”

Deland (7-5) starting pitcher Eric Green (St. Petersburg CC) earned the win after five innings of work in which he struck out nine, while walking only two and allowing one run. Bennie Sanchez (SCAD) took the loss for Sanford (4-8).

“Eric’s got a great arm. He did a nice job mixing locations to keep our guys off balance,” Piercefield said.

Stephen Bellantoni (USC-Aiken) and Brandon Turner (Bethune Cookman) scored the first two runs for DeLand in the first. Austin Jackson (Florida Southern) scored one in the second to make it 3-1. Austen Barber (Winthrop) and Aaron Silbar (Columbia University) crossed home in the fourth to make it 5-1.

Gavlik scored the first run for the Rats. Following a triple in the first inning, Ramsey hit an RBI single to plate Gavlik to make it 2-1. The other run prior to the ninth came as Boyd hit an RBI single to score Ian MacGeorge (Embry-Riddle) in the seventh to cut the lead to 5-2.

It was a special day for the Rats despite the loss, as many of the players’ fathers came to see their sons play on Father’s Day.

“It’s always great to see our guys be able to perform in front of their families,” Piercefield said. “That’s always special for a father to see his son play. We were excited to have them be a part of our festivities tonight.”

Sanford will be off Monday. Their next game will be at Leesburg’s (9-3) Pat Thomas Stadium on Tuesday, June 21, which will mark the first time the Rats will play there this summer. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.