End of an Era: Manatees Lose Final Game


Final Goodbye
Manatees Say Goodbye to Brevard County

The final Brevard County Manatees game in franchise history was played Sunday in front of 1,573 fans at Space Coast Stadium in Viera. The game did not end the way the home crowd hoped, with the Manatees falling 6-4 to Daytona.

“The fans were awesome and they showed their support all season long,” said Brevard County skipper Joe Ayrault. “No matter what our record was, they came out and supported our boys, they were great.”

Daytona (40-28, 76-61) pounded out 15 hits on this night and got started right away, getting on the board in the top of the first, against Manatees starter Bubba Derby. Blake Trahan and Shed Long had back-to-back singles to start and Gavin LaValley kicked off his big night with a two-run double.

Derby (6-13) got out of further trouble in the second inning, despite giving up two more hits. He was able to pick-off Shed Long, keeping Daytona off the board. 

Unfortunately, Derby was unable to solve LaValley in the third inning. The Tortugas designated hitter made it a 2-for-2 night when he blasted a 415-foot shot off the top of the batter’s eye in center field, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead.

The LaValley show continued in the fifth. After Trahan got his third hit of the night with a single, he stole second and came home one out later, on LaValley’s double, making it 4-0. LaValley finished 4-for-5, putting the finishing touches on a season that saw him hit .275 with 11 home runs and 61 RBIs.

“That kid can hit,” said Ayrault of LaValley. “He’s just a pure hitter. Good feel for the strike zone and got some power potential, good hitter’s hands. He’s a definite prospect.”

Derby got through the inning, but he did not return for the sixth. He allowed 10 hits in his five innings of work, with all four runs being earned. Derby did not walk a batter, struck out five and threw 48 of his 71 pitches for strikes. 

David Lucroy
David Lucroy
He was replaced by David Lucroy, who was making his home debut with the Manatees.

Meanwhile, Daytona starter Seth Varner was cruising through the first five innings. He allowed a single to Elvis Rubio in the second inning and that was it until he ran into trouble in the sixth. 

Malik Collymore beat out an infield single with one out and came home when Trey Turner gapped a triple, getting the ‘Tees on the board. Mitch Ghelfi followed with an RBI single, cutting the lead in half, 4-2.

“He did a nice job,” said Ayrault of York. “It was nice that he got a chance to come up here and fill in for us. We ran a little short position player wise and it was a great experience for him, he did a great job.”

Varner got through seven innings, giving up just four hits and two earned runs. He did not walk a batter and struck out seven. “He threw the ball well today,” said Ayrault of Varner. "He kept our hitters off-balance and did a good job.”

Long started the seventh with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. LaValley continued to torture the Manatees, as he stroked his third double of the day and drove in his fifth RBI. Brian O’Grady broke up LaValley day, as he was the only other Daytona player with an RBI, following LaValley’s double with one of his own.

With the score 6-2, the Manatees gave the fans something to cheer about again, in the bottom of the eighth. Brandon Diaz singled and went to second on a passed ball. After York drew a walk, Ghelfi pounded one to center for his 10th double of the year, plating both runners and cutting the deficit back to two runs, 6-4.

“These guys don’t quit, every day they get after it,” said Ayrault. “They play to win; they get after it.”

The Manatees (17-52, 40-97) had one last chance in the bottom of the ninth, but Daytona Jimmy Herget put an exclamation point on things by striking out the side.
Trey York
closer 


With that, the fans took to their feet, showing appreciation for an organization that has been a part of their lives for the past 23 years. The Manatees ended the night by introducing the coaching staff and players once again, as many fans continued to stand.

“I’ll definitely miss Brevard,” said Ayrault. “The front office and the fans have been awesome and it was a great experience here. I’ll definitely miss it.”

The franchise will now look to Kissimmee for a fresh start. The team will be re-branded and begin play when the Florida State League opens its 2017 season in April. No decision has been made public about whether the Brewers will continue their affiliation with the new team, or if another Major League team will take over.

This blog is an extension of our website - Sportslowdown.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FIT Men Push Win Streak to Five

Image
Patrick Anderson - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Men’s Basketball team beat Nova Southeastern Saturday, 98-90 and in the process won their fifth straight game and have now won seven out of eight, after two straight losses to start the season. The first half was a back-and-forth affair with Jordan Majors and Patrick Anderson dropping in 12 points apiece. Majors was 4-of-5 from three-point range and Anderson was 2-of-5, leading the Panthers to an 11-of-18 first half, from beyond the arc. “The difference in the game was clearly in two areas,” said Panthers head coach Billy Mims in his postgame interview with Jim Mitchell. “We made 14 threes’ in the game and we’re shooting the ball as well as anybody in the conference,” he said. “We shot 41 percent behind the arc and when you shoot like that, it’s hard to lose games. The other thing that stood out was how well we passed the basketball, talk about a team effort, we had 26 assists and only 13 tur...
Read more

FIT Women Lose Key Game at Lynn

Image
Gracie Doane - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech women’s basketball team were doomed by a poor third quarter Friday night that saw the Lynn Fighting Knights outscore the Panthers 22-11, en route to a 71-61 Sunshine State Conference victory. The loss was the fourth in a row for Florida Tech. The Panthers troubles started early when leading scorer Shequana Harris was called for a foul two seconds into the contest. She picked up a second foul early and her third, just as the third quarter got underway. When all was said, and done, Harris played three minutes and scored two points. Florida Tech (6-6, 2-4 SSC) held their own early without her, leading 13-12 with 1:23 left in the first quarter, thanks to a layup by Gudlau Juliusdottir before Lynn overtook them, scoring five straight points and leading 17-13 at the end of the first quarter. Lynn (7-4, 2-3 SSC) extended their lead to 23-15 early in the second quarter and were up 27-19 before Gracie D...
Read more

Florida Tech Falls Late Against Adelphi

Image
The Florida Tech Panthers lacrosse team put up a great effort against the ninth ranked Adelphi Panthers on Thursday, losing 10-8 in a tightly contested game. Florida Tech goaltender Daniel Flock stood tall, against a highly skilled Adelphi squad, coming up with nine saves. The Panthers of Florida Tech scored six unanswered goals at one point, turning a 5-2 deficit into an 8-5 lead, but Adelphi scored five straight from about the halfway point of the fourth, to the end of the game and escaped with a victory. Florida Tech (1-1) did a lot of things right on Thursday statistically, winning in shots 37-29 and ground balls 37-31. They were 2-for-5 on the man-up, while AU was 1-for-3 and FIT was successful on 19 of their 20 clear attempts. Unfortunately, they did not win on the scoreboard and that’s the only number that counts. Adelphi (1-0) was led by Nick Racalbuto, who had four goals and Michael Osmundsen who had three, to go along with one assist. The other Racalbuto in ...
Read more