Manship the man for Miracle on Wednesday

By Special to the Naples Daily News

VERO BEACH — The hitting display by the Fort Myers Miracle continued on Wednesday night as the Miracle scored 10 unanswered runs on 13 hits in a 10-2 win over the Vero Beach Devil Rays. The Miracle belted four home runs on Wednesday night taking three of four from the Rays. In the four-game series, the Miracle hit nine long balls and picked up a total of 48 hits having now won six of their last seven.

Miracle starter Jeff Manship was phenomenal. Manship tossed eight innings, allowing the two Rays runs, on five hits with eight strikeouts. Manship improved to 4-1 with the Miracle and 11-2 combined this season between Beloit and Fort Myers.

Vero Beach would score their only two runs in the bottom of the first as Garrett Groce and Josh Paul led off with Rays singles. Rhyne Hughes followed by grounded into a double play to score Groce for the 1-0 lead. Sergio Pedroza quickly followed with his third blast of the series, a solo shot to left, giving the Rays a two-run lead.

The Miracle would score four in the third and never look back. A two-run triple from Erik Lis tied the contest at two, before Danny Valencia belted his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot to right, for a 4-2 lead. Pedroza tracked down Valencia’s fly ball in right, leaped and had the home run ball in his glove until he came crashing down on the wall that jarred the ball loose for Valencia’s round-tripper.

A lead-off walk in the sixth by Johnny Woodard would prove beneficial as Edward Ovalle followed two hitters later with an opposite-field shot to right making it 6-2. Brian Dinkelman soon followed with a long ball to right giving the Miracle a five-run cushion, while extending his hitting streak to 11.

In the Miracle eighth, a lead-off walk by Ovalle and a single to right by Dinkelman would put the first two runners aboard for Tolleson. Hitless until the eighth, Tolleson would make up for everything by crushing a three-run blast to left for the final lead of 10-2.

The Miracle road trip will continue Thursday night in Sarasota. The first of two at Ed Smith Stadium will begin at 7 p.m