Miracle end season with 17-5 rout of Dunedin

By Special to the Naples Daily News

DUNEDIN — Saving the best for last is an expression used often in everyday life. The Fort Myers Miracle did exactly that to wrap up the 2007 season on Sunday afternoon.

The Miracle pounded out a season-high 17 runs on a season-high 21 hits thanks to a season-high nine-run eighth inning in a 17-5 romp over the Dunedin Blue Jays at Knology Park. Erik Lis had a grand slam, part of his five RBI day, to cap off the eight inning.

The 2007 season comes to end for the Miracle as they set a season-high with runs, hits, runs in an inning, extra base hits with 10, doubles with six and tied the season-high for triples with two. The Miracle end the season on a five-game win streak and complete the ’07 campaign with a 70-70 mark.

The Miracle wasted little time in completing the weekend sweep of the Jays on Sunday afternoon. Brian Dinkelman and Steve Tolleson led off the first with back-to-back triples before Lis and Dustin Martin each singled for a 2-0 lead. Two more runs in the fourth gave the Miracle a four-run cushion as Jeff Christy roped an RBI double to left followed by Tolleson’s RBI single to left.

Christy’s second double of the afternoon led off the sixth while Toby Gardenhire’s single and Tolleson’s one-out walk loaded the bases for Martin. Martin would collect his 29th double of the season to clear the bases and give the Miracle a touchdown advantage. A solo home run from Christy in the seventh would make it an 8-0 lead before Dunedin struck for three in its seventh.

An RBI groundout from newcomer Joel Collins and two-run single by Chris Gutierrez would put the three-spot on the board for the Jays. In the nine-run eighth, the Miracle put together the mammoth inning thanks to six hits and a couple of Blue Jay errors.

Martin, finishing 4-for-5 on the day, picked up his fifth RBI with his second double of the day to start the eighth frame scoring. Danny Valencia would register an RBI infield single before a throwing error by reliever Eric Fowler tacked on another run in the inning.

Gardenhire, 3-for-5 in the matinee, picked up his own run-scoring single before Lis capped his day in style with a grand slam to right. Lis’ day ended going 3-for-6 with the grand slam, two singles and five RBI. The hits were spread up and down throughout the Miracle lineup on Sunday as Martin finished with four, Lis, Christy and Gardenhire each had three, and Dinkelman, Tolleson, Danny Valencia and Dwayne White each had two.