Miracle pound Dunedin

Span's 5-for-5 night carries team to 9-5 win

By SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS

DUNEDIN — For the second straight game, the Fort Myers Miracle ripped apart Dunedin Blue Jays pitching, used a couple of long balls and some solid hitting from Denard Span, in a 9-5 victory at Knology Park on Thursday night.

The hitting started right away as Span doubled to lead off the game. That was just the start of Span's big night as he went 5-for-5 with the double, four singles, two RBI and a run scored.

He became the first Miracle to collect five hits in a game since James Tomlin did it May 15, 2003, at St. Lucie.

Two outs later, Brock Peterson walked and Kyle Geiger drove in Span with a single. Kyle Phillips then followed with an RBI single to put the Miracle up 2-0.

The Miracle weren't sharp in the field in the bottom of the inning, committing three errors that led to three Blue Jays runs.

In the fourth, however, Fort Myers exploded for five runs. Brock Peterson sent one over the right-field wall, a solo shot, for his fourth of the season and third in two nights.

The Miracle then loaded the bases and Matt Tolbert doubled in two. Ron Perodin's RBI groundout scored the fourth run of the inning and Span's single plated the fifth run.

Kyle Phillips hit his first 2005 homer, a solo drive to right-center, in the fifth.

The Miracle, who homered just seven times in their first 17 games, have hit six in the last two games. All 13 home runs have come on the road.

They scored their final run in the eighth on an RBI single from Span.

The lone negative for the Miracle was that Matt Moses' eight-game hit streak came to an end as he went 0-for-5.

Miracle starter Nick Blackburn went six innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits while walking two and striking out six.