One Mistake Costs Miracle in 1-0 Loss to Cardinals

By Sean Aronson
Fort Myers Miracle

JUPITER, FL – One pitch, one mistake and the Fort Myers Miracle found themselves on the losing end of a 1-0 game to the Palm Beach Cardinals on Tuesday night at Roger Dean Stadium.

After a tremendous pitching performance by the two starters, Kevin Slowey for the Miracle and Blake Hawksworth of the Cardinals, it was the bullpens job to keep up the effort. Unfortunately, for Miracle reliever Chris Schutt he made one mistake in the ninth inning and it left the ballpark. On a 3-2 pitch to Terry Evans, in the bottom of the ninth, he blasted his 10th homer over the left-center field wall for the walk off homer, the second against the Miracle and third walk off for Evans this season.

Prior to that it was all pitching. Slowey was his usual unbelievable self. He allowed just three hits over 7.0 innings while striking out 10, making his strikeout to walk ratio 6 3/2 and extending his scoreless streak to 13.0 innings. The only trouble he got into was a lead off ground rule double by Joe Mather in the third, but Slowey got back-to-back strikeouts and a ground out to get out of the inning. It was the only man he allowed to reach second until a two base error in the seventh, when center fielder Deacon Burns slid for a fly ball that popped in and out of his glove. Slowey retired the next hitter on a fly out.

Hawksworth was just as dominant allowing just an infield single by Alexi Casilla in the fourth inning and nothing else in his 6.0 innings. He walked three and struck out four. The Miracle had Casilla at second in the fourth after his single and advancing to second on the throwing error, but he was erased on Matt Tolbert’s groundball. Tolbert then stole second, but Garrett Guzman struck out and after a walk to Kyle Geiger, Jeremy Pickrel flew out to center.

The Miracle had a runner at third with two outs in the ninth, but Brock Peterson grounded out to end the inning. The Miracle managed just two hits, Casilla’s fourth inning single and Guzman’s single in the ninth.

The same two teams meet Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. at Roger Dean Stadium. The Miracle send LHP Kyle Aselton (3-1, 2.95) to the hill against the Cardinals RHP Nicholas Webber (3-1, 2.72).