Manatees Come Back Twice, Beat Cardinals in 11 Innings

George Iskenderian
The Brevard County Manatees (30-62, 7-17) rallied with two runs in the top of the ninth on Monday and went on to score the winning run in the top of the 11th, beating the Palm Beach Cardinals (40-53, 8-17), 5-4 at Roger Dean Stadium.

Eric Hanhold got the start for the Manatees and had one of his better starts of the season. He went seven innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out six. Palm Beach scored a run in the bottom of the first on a double play grounder by Cole Lankford and a run in the fourth on a ground out by Thomas Spitz.

Meanwhile, Palm Beach starter Matt Pearce did not allow a hit through the first five innings, with the only Manatee to reach was Elvis Rubio on an error in the fourth. That all changed in the sixth inning, when the Brevard County offense finally got going.

Dustin Houle led off with a single and one out later, Corey Ray doubled, moving Houle to third. That hit extended Ray’s hitting streak to nine games. Wendell Rijo’s ground out to third was good enough to get Houle home. Dustin DeMuth came to bat and was hit by a pitch. He later took off for second, getting caught in a rundown long enough for Ray to score the tying run.

Eric Hanhold
Eric Hanhold
Hanhold got the Cardinals in order in the sixth, but trouble found him in the seventh. Spitz led off with a double and after getting a strikeout, Hanhold gave up a long ball to Chris Rivera. That put the Cardinals up 4-2. Hanhold got the last two outs of the inning and his night was done, after throwing 97 pitches, 56 for strikes.

Pearce, again working with the lead, got through the next two innings, retiring the Manatees in order. Brevard County had one more chance in the ninth and they were able to keep Pearce from getting the complete game he was hoping for.
Ray and Rijo greeted him with back-to-back singles to start the inning. Ray eventually picked off at second, but DeMuth replaced him when he drew a walk. Clint Coulter lined out to right, moving Rijo to third. Rubio followed with a single and closed the gap to a single run. Pearce was lifted after that, one out from a complete game. He gave way to Landon Beck.

George Iskenderian was the first batter to face Beck and he promptly singled to right, scoring DeMuth and tying the game again, 4-4. Pearce was charged with that run. All four runs were earned and he gave up six hits over 8.2 innings. He walked one and struck out six, with 67 of his 95 pitches going for strikes.

Preston Gainey pitched the eighth for the Manatees and was replaced by Jon Olczak in the ninth. Gainey allowed one hit and struck out one. Olczak sent Palm Beach down in order in the ninth and the Manatees offense looked poised to get him the win in the 10th.

Houle walked and was run for my Malik Collymore. Collymore went to second on a Jose Cuas ground out and Beck then intentionally walked Ray, before being relieved by Blake McKnight. He got Rijo to pop out, for the second out of the inning. DeMuth drew a walk, loading the bases, but McKnight got Coulter to fly out, ending the threat.

Olczak returned to the mound for the 10th and gave up a double to Oscar Mercado. After a wild pitch
Jon Olczak
Jon Olczak
got Mercado to third, Casey Turgeon grounded out.
That was the last batter Olczak would face, giving way to Brad Kuntz. Pinch-hitter Vaughn Bryan went down on strikes and Kuntz walked Lankford. He took second on defensive indifference, putting runners on second and third. Kuntz got out of the inning when Casey Grayson grounded out to first.

In the top of the 11th, after Rubio popped out, Iskenderian roped a double to left. He went to third on a wild pitch and Fidel Pena grounded back to the mound. McKnight went to first to get the out and Iskenderian scored.

Kuntz (3-2) got the Cardinals in order in the bottom of the 11th, picking up the victory. Beck blew his third save of the season and McKnight was saddled with the loss, falling to 3-6. Offensively, Ray, Rubio and Iskenderian had two hits apiece for the Manatees. They combined for six of the eight hits.

For More Info: Brevard County @ Palm Beach Boxscore

Marcos Diplan (0-0, 81.00) will make his first start for the Manatees on Tuesday. It will be his first appearance since he debuted back on July 10, at Bradenton. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on 27OutsBaseball.com on 7/18/16

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