| The Lee County Black Sox defeated the Fort Myers Hitmen for the 4th straight game--dating back to the 2009 Spring Championship--to sweep the regular-season series. It was a bitter struggle that went down to the wire, but clutch performances pushed the Sox over the top in the end.
Jason Guy did his duty as the team's firestarter, collecting a game-high 3 hits on the day, driving in two runs to lead the Sox. Christian Martinez stayed one of the hottest Sox, drawing 3 walks and a base hit to go with a steal. Justin Cook reached base twice on a hit and a walk, also stealing a bag. Mike Chikosky rapped a double and picked up a sacrifice bunt to set up a score. Brad Haley reached twice with a hit and a walk, as did co-manager Jesse Grinstead. Randy Summerall had a walk, a hit, and an RBI.
The Sox suffered a scare when starting pitcher Matt Vorwald was forced to leave the game with a partial muscle tear in his calf. Vorwald left after pitching 4 innings and yielding 4 hits while striking out 6. However, Tommy Watkins came in a picked up an inning of work before Pat Roemer delivered a lights-out performance to save the Black Sox. Roemer only allowed a single run on 3 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 6 in his 4 stellar innings to earn the win.
The play of the game (besides Roemer's pitching) came from Tommy Watkins (2-3, 2R, HR, 2RBI, BB, SB) who broke up a tie ballgame in late innings with a mile-high 2-run homerun to right center off of Hitmen reliever Ray DeJesus. Shortly thereafter, Rich Carroll (1-2, sac fly, HR, 2RBI) blasted a no-doubt rocket to left to add some insurance. Roemer had no trouble closing out the game to help the Black Sox clinch a playoff spot. With a combination of 2 Black Sox wins or Hitmen losses in the coming weeks, the Sox will claim the #1 seed. The Sox play the Grinders January 10th. Visit http://www.leecountyblacksox.com for player profiles, pictures, and more. |
