Sports Lowdown

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 wa...

Dustin Houle The Tampa Yankees had a big offensive day on Sunday, knocking around Brevard County Manatees pitching for 15 hits in an 8-2 victory. It was the 15 th  consecutive victory for Tampa this season over the Manatees and they finished the season series with a 16-2 record. The day got off to a tough start for Manatees manager Joe Ayrault in the bottom of the first and was likely a sign of things to come.  With one out,  Thairo Estrada  and  Gleyber Torres  hit back-to-back singles against starter  Kodi Medeiros .  Trey Amburgey  was next to the plate and he checked his swing early in the at bat on a ball in the dirt. Manatees catcher  Mitch Ghelfi  caught it, but both Yankees runners moved up without a throw. Ayrault came out to argue, likely saying that the ball was foul-tipped, which is why there was no throw. He stated his case first to home plate umpire Jose Navas and then to base umpire Reid Joyner. He then ...

Jose Cuas The Brevard County Manatees pounded out 15 hits and sent nine men to the plate in the top of the ninth, scoring three runs, but falling just short in a 7-6 loss to the Tampa Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The Manatees left the bases loaded in that ninth inning and left 12 men on base in all, but showed a lot of fight, despite losing their 91 st game of the season and the 13 th in a row to the Yankees this season. Tampa is now 14-2 against Brevard County this season, with two games remaining. The Yankees (75-55, 33-28) scored a run in the top of the first, against Manatees starter Jon Perrin on a Gleyber Torres single. That plated Thairo Estrada, who had a hustle double earlier in the frame. Malik Collymore led off the top of the third with a single against Tampa starter Josh Rogers. One out later, Mitch Ghelfi moved him to third on an infield hit. Collymore later scored on a fielder’s choice by Blake Allemand, tying things up at one. Tampa ...

Corey Ray The Lakeland Flying Tigers completed a series sweep on Thursday, beating the Brevard County Manatees 7-4 in front of 1,162 at Space Coast Stadium. This was the final game between these two teams in 2016, with Lakeland winning the season series 14-4. The Manatees (14-40, 37-85) got on the board first when Corey Ray led off the bottom of the first with a double and came home on an Elvis Rubio double. Rubio came home thanks to two wild pitches by Flying Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull. Lakeland tied it in the top of the second against Manatees starter Devin Williams. Anthony Pereira had an RBI double and Rashad Brown hit a ball that dropped into short left field, with three Manatees in pursuit. That scored Pereira with the tying run. The Manatees regained the lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by David Denson. It was Denson’s first RBI since his debut with Brevard County 14 games ago. That lead was short-lived, as Lakeland picked up two more runs...

Blake Allemand Phil Bickford  was impressive in his second start of the season for the Manatees on Saturday, striking out 10 Dunedin Blue Jays in five innings of work. Unfortunately, he did not factor into the decision, a 4-3 victory in 10 innings for Dunedin. Despite Bickford’s performance, Dunedin opened the scoring in the bottom of the first.  Dickie Joe Thon  singled and went to second on a wild pitch. He stole third, as  J.D. Davis  was striking out.  Ryan McBroom , who would be heard from again later, knocked Thon home with a single. Bickford ended up striking out the side in the inning and went on to strike out two in the second inning and two more in the third. He added one more in the fourth and two in the fifth. The Manatees offense rewarded him with two runs in the top of the sixth, against Dunedin starter  Luis Santos . Fidel Pena  singled with one out and rode home on a  Blake Allemand ...

Elvis Rubio The Lakeland Flying Tigers got home runs from Kade Scivicque and Zac Shepherd in the sixth inning Monday night, en route to a 6-2 win over the visiting Brevard County Manatees. The loss tempered the start of Phil Bickford, who made his Manatees debut on the mound. Bickford gave up one hit through his first three innings and the Manatees gave him an early lead in the bottom of the first. George Iskenderian singled against Lakeland starter Spencer Turnbull and went to second on a wild pitch. He rode home on an RBI single off the bat of Elvis Rubio. Turnbull was done after three innings, as he works his way back from a right shoulder impingement. He was relieved by Austin Kubitza, after throwing 54 pitches, 36 for strikes. He recorded three strikeouts. The Manatees got to Kubitza right away. Rubio and David Denson drew back-to-back one out walks and Allemand brought Rubio home with a single, giving the Manatees a 2-0 lead. Kubitza settled down, coming back t...

Marcos Diplan home debut The Brevard County Manatees were shut out for the 17 th time this season on Friday night, dropping a 1-0 decision to the visiting Charlotte Stone Crabs, in the opener of a four-game series. Marcos Diplan, the Manatees 19-year-old right-hander, deserved a better fate in his first start of the season in front of the home crowd at Space Coast Stadium. The only run he gave up was unearned, in the top of the first. MLB-rehabber Desmond Jennings, who is working his way back from a hamstring injury, drew a walk to start the game. Jake Cronenworth reached on an error by Fidel Pena at first base, moving Jennings to third. He would score on a double-play ball hit by Mac James. The Manatees turned the twin killing, but Jennings scored the decisive run. Jennings was joined by fellow MLB-rehabber Alex Cobb, who is coming off Tommy John Surgery. Cobb has had a couple setbacks recently in his rehab, but you wouldn’t have known it watching him on Friday night. ...

Freddy Peralta Brevard County Manatees hurler Freddy Peralta made his first start of the season at Space Coast Stadium on Saturday, coming away with a no-decision, as the Manatees fell 3-1 to the Jupiter Hammerheads. The 20-year-old Peralta went 4-1 in Low-A Wisconsin with a 2.85 ERA in 16 games (8 starts), before Making his first appearance in relief for Brevard County on July 9 at Bradenton. Peralta looked comfortable to begin Saturday’s game, striking out Junior Sosa and getting the crowd of 1,116 into the game early. After retiring Rony Cabrera on a ground out, Peralta grooved a fastball that John Norwood drilled off the left field wall. Brad Haynal cashed that in quickly with an RBI single, giving the visitors a quick 1-0 lead. Peralta would give up only one more hit in five innings of work and the first inning run was all that he allowed. He walked three and struck out four, throwing 73 pitches, 42 strikes. Peralta even showed off some defensive skills in the s...

Corey Ray 7/4/16 Milwaukee Brewers 2016 first round pick Corey Ray made his professional debut Monday night with the Florida State League’s Brevard County Manatees. As if your pro debut isn’t big enough, Ray got to do it on July Fourth, in front of a sellout crowd of 5,760 fans. “I thought there would be jitters, but my teammates kept me calm,” Ray said after the game. “They reminded me that it’s just a game and it felt good to get out there in front of a great crowd. They told me not to do too much, just to keep it simple and remember that it’s just baseball, the game I’ve been playing for 20 years.” Ray officially went 0-for-3 on Monday, but he drove in what proved to be the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning of an eventual 3-0 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays. The fifth overall pick in this years’ draft immediately made the jump to Advanced-A, skipping both rookie ball and Low-A. “I haven’t seen live pitching in so long, I’m just wanting to get up...

Cody Ponce The Brevard County Manatees celebrated the Fourth of July with a 3-0 win over the visiting Dunedin Blue Jays at Space Coast Stadium. The sold out crowd of 5,760 got to see 2015 second round pick Cody Ponce throw five shutout innings and outfielder Corey Ray, drafted No. 5 overall in this years’ draft, drive in the winning run in his professional baseball debut. Ponce got the start and had his most impressive outing of the season, throwing five innings and giving up only two hits. Unfortunately, he left in a scoreless game and did not qualify for the victory. Ponce ended the night with five strikeouts. He one in each of the first three innings and struck out two more in his fifth and final inning of work. “It was an outstanding outing, worked ahead in the count and put hitters away when he needed to,” said Manatees manager Joe Ayrault. It was a solid showing.” Adding to the stellar night for Ponce was the fact that he did not walk a batter and threw 37 of his 6...