Stone Crabs split doubleheader against St. Lucie with a 9-5 win in game two

The Game: The Charlotte Stone Crabs earned a split of the doubleheader with a 9-5 win in game two on Monday evening at Tradition Field. Charlotte got on the board in the first inning as Shawn O’Malley led off with a single to center. O’Malley stole second base and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Greg Sexton followed with a sac fly to score O’Malley and give the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead.

The Stone Crabs kept going and put four runs on the board in the second. Ian Paxton hit an RBI double to score Henry Wrigley and then advanced to third on the throw. Shawn O’Malley singled to score Paxton. Shawn Williams followed with a two run double that scored Emeel Salem and Shawn O’Malley to give the Stone Crabs a 5-0 lead.

St. Lucie got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Richard Pena got things going with an RBI double to score Brahiam Maldonado. Hector Pellot later scored off a grounder by Jake Eigsti to bring the Mets within three runs.

The Stone Crabs battled back with a solo home run by Henry Wrigley in the top of the third and then put up another big inning in the fourth, striking for three more runs. Shawn O’Malley crossed the plate first on an error by Mets second baseman Greg Veloz. Next was Greg Sexton coming home on an RBY single by Ryan Royster. Finally Omar Luna drew a bases loaded walk that scored Cody Cipriano giving the Stone Crabs a 9-3 lead.

The Mets battled back in the bottom of the inning by scoring three runs of their own. Brahiam Maldonado gets it going by hitting a two run homer to left. Richard Pena followed with a ground rule double to left and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Pena was drove home on a grounder by Jake Eigsti. St. Lucie was unable to push across any more runs and the Stone Crabs took the victory 9-5.

Jeremy Hall picked up the win by pitching 5 innings and allowing 5 runs on 6 hits while striking out 3 and walking 1. Tommy Rafferty pitched 2 shut-out innings allowing 1 hit and recording 3 strikeouts. Oliver Perez was the losing pitcher for St. Lucie.

What Went Right: Shawn O’Malley; 2 for 4 with an RBI and 3 runs scored. Jeremy Hall; picked up his league leading 8th win.

What Went Wrong: Runners in scoring position; Stone Crabs were only 3 for 10 with RISP.

A Look Ahead: The Stone Crabs and Mets will face off again on Tuesday at Tradition Field. Alex Cobb (3-4, 3.41) will pitch against Angel Calero (1-6, 4.43).