Miracle faces Jupiter Hammerheads

By Kevin Johnson
Naples Daily News

The Florida Marlins FSL affiliate will make its only trip this season to Hammond Stadium next week.

The Jupiter Hammerheads will face the Fort Myers Miracle July 11-14. Game time each night is 7:05.

The Hammerheads feature some of the Marlins most highly-touted pitching prospects, including first round draft picks Chris Volstad, Jacob Marceaux, Aaron Thompson and Brett Sinkbeil.

Other Marlin prospects include infielder Gaby Sanchez, who was named FSL Player of the Week last week after batting .435, and Andrew Jenkins, a former teammate of Miracle reliever Kyle Aselton at Oregon State who is batting .320.

The series pits two of the top pitching staffs against two of the weaker offenses. Fort Myers has the league’s lowest ERA; Jupiter is fourth. The Miracle are last in batting average. The Hammerheads aren’t much better, just two spots ahead.

The teams split a four-game series in June at Jupiter. Each game was decided by one run.

Promotions: The July 13 game will feature Zooperstars. The first 750 fans at the July 14 game will receive a free Miss A Miracle piggy bank.

Woodard Connects: In a 9-4 loss at Dunedin on July 4, Miracle first baseman Johnny Woodard hit his first home run in 11 games since being promoted from Beloit, where he smacked 10 homers in the first half.

Sosa Shines: Miracle starter Oswaldo Sosa sports a sparkling 1.34 ERA in his last 60 innings. The FSL All-Star has allowed just two balls to leave the park this season.

No Streakin’: The Miracle’s longest win streak of the season is three games.