Miracle teach Threshers lesson, 5-4

By Special to the Fort Myers News Press

FORT MYERS — It was an educational day at Hammond Stadium, with Erik Lis giving the Clearwater Threshers a hitting lesson by going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles to lead the Fort Myers Miracle to a 5-4 win on Wednesday.

The day game featured Education Day I at the park, with 2,323 screaming youngsters on hand.

Starting things off early, the Miracle tallied two in the second as Steve Tolleson delivered a one-out single to right, scoring Javi Sanchez. Dwayne White followed with a groundout to first that scored Toby Gardenhire from third.

Clearwater responded with a pair of runs of its own in the third as Jeremy Slayden connected on a two-run single to center, bringing home Matt Thayer and Greg Golson. Thayer drew a one-out walk, while Golson reached base with a double to left.

A three-run fifth for the Miracle gave them the lead for good as Dwayne White, who led off with a single to center, scored on the first of two doubles by Lis, giving his team a 3-2 lead.

Edward Ovalle would soon trade places with Lis at second base with his own RBI-double before scoring on a fielding error by Thresher shortstop Fidel Hernandez.

Miracle relievers Frank Mata and Eddie Morlan shut the door on the Threshers in the final three innings. Mata tossed two perfect innings with one strikeout, picking up his second win. Morlan registered his third save, allowing no runs on a couple of hits in the ninth.

The Miracle embark on a seven-games-in-six-day road trip beginning with a four-game set at Dunedin. The Miracle and Blue Jays will play a doubleheader today, beginning at 5 p.m.