Dunedin completes sweep of Miracle

By Special to the Naples Daily News

DUNEDIN — Long balls and come backs were aplenty on Friday night but in the end, it was the Dunedin Blue Jays who held on for a 6-5 victory over the Fort Myers Miracle to complete the three-game sweep at Knology Park. Danny Valencia and Erik Lis each had round-trippers for the Miracle while Anthony Hatch and Brian Jeroloman had the dingers for Dunedin.

The Miracle jumped on the board first as Valencia connected on a two-out, solo homer off the scoreboard for a short-lived 1-0 lead. Jeroloman would pick up his first of three RBI on the night with a double to right in the second, scoring Cory Patton who led off the inning with a two-base hit, to tie things at one apiece.

Hatch’s solo shot leading off the third gave the Jays their first advantage on the night while Jeroloman made it a 4-1 lead with his two-run homer in the fourth. Valencia, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, smacked a one-out double in the sixth to begin the first of two Miracle comebacks. Lis would follow two hitters later with his blast to right cutting the deficit to 4-3.

Jeroloman led off the Dunedin seventh with a walk, and would move to second on Luke Hetherington reaching on an error. Hatch would make the Miracle pay two pitches later by lacing a two-run double to left-center, sending the Jays to another three-run lead at 6-3.

Two runs in the eighth would again bring the Miracle to within one, but that’s as close as it would get. Back-to-back doubles from Tolleson and Juan Portes made it a 6-4 game, before Edward Ovalle’s sacrifice fly to left brought home Portes with the fifth and final run of the night.

The scene will now shift to Bright House Networks Field as the Miracle open up their final three-game series at Clearwater. The Miracle will send RHP Oswaldo Sosa (3-4, 2.29) to the mound against the Threshers beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.