Savannah Sand Gnats 10 Delmarva Shorebirds 0

The Savannah Sand Gnats and the Delmarva Shorebirds played game three of the three game series in front of 2,209 fans Friday evening at Grayson Stadium. Three Savannah pitchers shutout Delmarva on 9 hits and Sand Gnats  banged out 13 hits to win the game 10-0. Savannah defense turned in three double plays to quell Shorebirds rallies. Savannah sweep the 3 game series.

Savannah got off to a quick start scoring four runs in the first. Brandon Brown singled. T. J. Rivera was hit by a pitch. A double by Dustin Lawley scored two runs. Travis Taijeron singled to drive in a run. Charley Thurber singled to drive in the 4th run of the inning.

In the 3rd inning, Rivera singled and would score on a single by Aderline Rodriquez. Savannah scored in the 6th: Taijeron hit a triple and he scored on a ground out. Sand Gnats had a big 8th inning scoring 4 runs.

Sand Gnats with multiple hits: Taijeron was 3-for-4, 2RBI's and 3 runs scored. Brown was 2-for-5 with a run scored. Lawley went 2-for-3, drove in 2 runs and scored 2 runs. Rodriquez was 2-for-4, scored a run and drove in 2 runs.

Starting Savannah pitcher Tyler Pill, pitched 6 shutout innings, allowed 8 hits, 8 strikeouts, and walked 2.  He is now(3-1) and lowered his ERA to 1.65. Jack Leathersich worked 2 innings and struck out 2. Working the 9th inning, Jared West gave up 1 hit.

Saturday evening at 6:05pm Savannah plays the Lakewood  Blueclaws in a four game series at Grayson Stadium.

Savannah Sand Gnats 3 Delmarva Shorebirds 1

The second game of the three game series between the Savannah Sand Gnats and the Delmarva Shorebirds was played in front of 2,258  fans Thursday evening at Grayson Stadium.

Savannah got a strong pitching performance from starter, Domingo Tapia, who went deep, 7 1/3 innings, allowed 1 run on 5 hits, 1BB, and struck out 3. The majority of his fastballs were in the 92-97 range. Winning the game improved his record to (2-1) and he lowered his ERA to 4.78.

Sand Gnats scored their first run in the 1st inning when Brandon Brown led off with a double and scored on a single by Travis Taijeron . Savannah scored their second run in the 2nd inning when Albert Cordero hit a home run down the left field line. The final run was scored in the 6th, Taijeron singled and scored when Charley Thurber hit a triple to right field.

Hitting stars for Savannah: Taijeron went 3-for-4, 1RBI and 1 run scored. Cordero hit his first home run of the season- the previous night he drove in 3 runs.

Pitching the final 1 2/3 innings for Savannah, Estarlin Morel allowed 3 hits, 0 runs, 2BB, and 2 strike outs earning his second save this year.

The final game of the three game series will be played Friday evening at 7:05 at Grayson Stadium.

Savannah Sand Gnats 7 Delmarva Shorebirds 1

The Savanna Sand Gnats played the Delmarva Shorebirds Wednesday evening in  first game of a three game series in front of 878 fans at Grayson Stadium. Three Savannah pitchers limited Delmarva to 1 run on 5 hits and won the game, 7-1.

Sand Gnats scored their first run in the 2nd inning. Brian Harrison doubled and scored on a single by Albert Cordero. In the 4th inning, Travis Taijeron, hit a home run over the left field fence, his 7th home run of the season which leads the team. The 6th inning saw Aderline Rodriquez doubled  and would score on a sac fly by Cordero. Four walks and a single in the 7th, Sand Gnats scored 4 runs.

For Savannah, Dustin Lawley was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Cordero was 1-for-1 with 3 RBI's.

Starting Sand Gnat pitcher, Alex Panteliodis, pitched 6 shutout innings, allowed 2 hits, 2BB, 5K and won the game(W,3-1),  lowering  his ERA to 0.68. Carlos Vazquez pitched 2 innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 run, 1K, 1BB. Chasen Bradford pitched the 9th inning, gave up 1 hit and struck out 1.

Game two of the 3 game series will be played Thursday, at Grayson Stadium starting at 7:05pm.

Hickory Crawdads 1 Savannah Sand Gnats 0

The final game of the four game series between the Savannah Sand Gnats and the Hickory Crawdads was played in front of 1,111 fans at Grayson Stadium Sunday afternoon.

After 5 innings played, Hickory led 1-0, and the game was called after a rain delay-the field was deemed unplayable. Hickory completed the four game sweep.

Hickory scored the only run of the game in the 3rd inning. Chris Grayson, who entered the contest batting .391, doubled to right field. Hanser Alberto hit a line drive out to pitcher Michael Fulmer, who threw the ball into center field for a throwing error, and a a throwing error by the center fielder allowed Grayson to score.

Crawdads starting pitcher, Victor Payano (W, 2-0) pitched 5 shutout innings, allowed 1 hit, 2BB, and struck out 3.

Savannah starting pitcher, Michael Fulmer, (L, 0-2), pitched 5 innings, allowed 1 run(unearned), allowed 4 hits, 1BB, and struck out 4.

The Sand Gnats only hit was by Tillman Pugh, who singled on a ground ball to left field in the 3 inning.

Hickory Crawdads 6 Savannah Sand Gnats 1

Game three of the four game series between the Savannah Sand Gnats(10-7) and the Hickory Crawdads(11-5)  was played in front of 3,282 fans at Grayson Stadium Saturday evening. Hickory collected 9 hits to win their third game in a row against Savannah, winning 6-1.

Starting Hickory pitcher, Luke Jackson, (W, 2-0) ERA 1.31 pitched 6 shutout innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 BB, and struck out 7. He threw numerous fastballs in the 90-95 range and he showed a good curve ball. Baseball America Prospect Handbook 2012, list Jackson as the 18th best prospect in the Texas Rangers organization and report he signed a 1.545 million dollar contract-he was a first round pick in the 2010 June draft.

Savannah collected 6 hits. Their lone run came in the 8th inning when Tillman Pugh hit a line drive over the left field fence.

Giants Cam Maron hit 2 singles and was 2-for-4 for the game. T. J. Rivera hit a double and was 2-for-4 for the game and he leads the team with the highest batting average at .387.

Starting Savannah pitcher, Tyler Pill, (L, 1-1) pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, 2BB and struck out 5. Marco Camarena went 3 2/3 innings, allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, and struck out 1. John Leathersich pitched 2 innings, allowed 1 run on 1 hit, 2BB, and 4 strikeouts.

The final game of the four game series will be played Sunday afternoon at 2:05pm at Grayson Stadium.

Hickory Crawdads 5 Savannah Sand Gnats 2

The second game of the four game series between the Savannah Sand Gnats and the Hickory Crawdads was played in front of 1,992 fans Friday evening(April 20, 2012) at Grayson Stadium. With the score tied 2-2 going into the 13th inning, Hickory scored 3 runs on 4 hits to win the game 5-2. Hickory out hit Savannah 13-5.

The Gnats scored their first run in the first inning. Brandon Brown singled, reached second on a hit by Cam Maron and scored on a groundout into a double play. Their second run was scored in the 7th inning when Dustin Lawley singled and stole second base. A fly ball out to right field moved Lawley to third and he scored on a sacrifice fly to center.

It seemed starting Savannah pitcher Domongo Tapia threw every fastball in the 90-97 range, striking out 9 batters, pitching 5 2/3 innings, allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, and walked one. Estarlin Morel pitched 2 2/3 shut out innings, allowed 3 hits and struck out 6. T J Chism pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings, struck out 6 and walked 1. Jared West(L, 1-1) pitched 2 innings,  allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and struck out 2. Collectively, Gnats pitchers struck out 23 Crawdads.

Game 3 of the 4 game series will be played Saturday at 6:05pm at Grayson Stadium.

Hickory Crawdads 7 Savannah Sand Gnats 1

The Savannah Sand Gnats and the Hickory Crawdads played the first game of a four game series Thursday evening at Grayson Stadium in front of 2,678 fans. Hickory collected 13 hits, three were for triples, to beat the Gnats 7-1

Starting pitcher for Hickory, Jared Eickhoff, (W,(2-1) pitched 5 innings, allowed 1 run on 2 hits, walked 3 and struck out 2. Reliever Santo Perez,  (S-1) pitched 4 shut out innings and  did not allow a hit.

Hickory scored in the first inning when Hanser Alberto tripled and scored on a throwing error by the second baseman. In the 3rd inning, Chris Grayson hit a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Crawdads scored 2 runs in the 4th, 1 run in the 5th, and their final 2 runs in the 6th inning.

Savannah scored their lone run in the 4th inning when Brian Harrison singled and reached second on a balk. He later scored on a groundout.

Starting Savannah pitcher Alexander Panteliodis (L, 2-1) pitched 4 innings, allowed 4 runs on 4 hits, struck out 3 and walked 2. Tyson Seng pitched 2 innings, allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, walked 1 and struck out 1 batter. Carlos Vazquez pitched 2 shutout innings, allowed 1 hit, walked 2 and struck out 2. Pitching the 9th inning, Jared West, gave up 2 hits.

Game 2 of the 4 game series will be played, Friday at 7:00pm at Grayson Stadium.