Miracle top Vero Beach

By special to the Fort Myers News Press

Three-hour games are becoming quite the norm for the Fort Myers Miracle these days.

But with just three and a half weeks left in the season, the Miracle don't care how long games are, just as long as they come away with wins.

They did just that Thursday with a 4-2 victory over the Vero Beach Dodgers at Hammond Stadium.

It took three hours and 16 minutes for the victory. It didn't look like it was going to happen, however, as things got tense in the ninth inning. Tim Lahey came out of the bullpen to pitch the ninth in a 4-2 game. He gave up three straight singles to load the bases. He struck out Adolfo Gonzalez and then had to face the cleanup hitter Cory Dunlap. Lahey got Dunlap to ground into a game-ending double play which earned Lahey his ninth save of the season.

The Miracle improved to 25-20 in the second half of the season.

The Miracle welcome the Sarasota Reds to town for a two-game series beginning at 7:05 tonight. The Miracle send right-hander Anthony Swarzak (7-6, 3.63) to the hill against Reds righty Justin Mallett (1-1, 3.92).