LAKELAND, Fla. (April 25, 2019) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs' pitching staff held the opponent to a season-low three hits Thursday, beating the Lakeland Flying Tigers 2-1 in the series opener at Publix Field. Riley O'Brien turned in five innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and two walks
LAKELAND, Fla. (April 25, 2019) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs' pitching staff held the opponent to a season-low three hits Thursday, beating the Lakeland Flying Tigers 2-1 in the series opener at Publix Field.
Riley O'Brien turned in five innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out six.
The Charlotte (8-13) bullpen delivered four scoreless innings to seal the win. Matt Seelinger (1-0) earned the win by striking out three of the four batters he faced in 1.1 perfect innings. Alex Valverde spun 1.2 hitless frames before Mikey York pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his first save.
In a scoreless game, Lakeland (9-10) got the scoring going in the top of the fourth. After a Jordy Mercer walk, Brady Policelli lined a double to the wall in left to put runners at second and third with one out. After a walk loaded the bases, O'Brien struck out Dylan Rosa. However, a passed ball allowed Mercer to score and give the Flying Tigers a 1-0 lead.
With Charlotte trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Jim Haley lined a one-out single to right. The next batter was Thomas Milone , who crushed an RBI triple to center to tie the game at one. Two batters later, Zach Rutherford pulled an infield single to shortstop to score Milone and give the Stone Crabs a 2-1 lead.
Charlotte outfielder Carl Chester picked up three more hits Thursday, and is now 7-for-11 in his last three games.
The Stone Crabs will look to clinch at least a split of the series at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Tommy Romero (1-0, 1.93) will start the game for Charlotte, against Dane Myers (1-2, 7.59) of the Tigers. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.
