Sports Lowdown

Elvis Rubio Miami Marlins No. 21 prospect Michael Mader held the Brevard County Manatees to one run over seven innings, helping the Jupiter Hammerheads to a 3-1 win Thursday night in front of 1,487 fans at Space Coast Stadium. The Manatees (5-15, 28-60) built a threat in the bottom of the first, with Corey Ray leading things off with a bunt that drew the first baseman away from the bag and by the time Mader picked up the ball, there was no one covering first and Ray beat it out. It was one of two hits on the night for Ray. “That’s gonna be a good weapon in his arsenal,” said Manatees manager Joe Ayrault. “To see him do that on his own was one of the highlights of my night. It was exciting.”  Wendell Rijo followed with a sacrifice bunt right in front of the plate and the Manatees had a runner in scoring position, two batters in. As he did for much of the night, Mader navigated his way through it. He struck out Wednesday night’s hero Dustin DeMuth and got Clint C...

DeMuth 16th Inning Home Run A long night at the ballpark ended well for the Brevard County Manatees on Wednesday. Dustin DeMuth came up with one out in the bottom of the 16 th inning and banged one off the batters’ eye, for a game winning solo homer against Travis Ballew, as the Manatees walked off against the Jupiter Hammerheads, 4-3. A game that was one out shy of ending in two hours and five minutes, stretched four hours and 14 minutes, before DeMuth rewarded everyone in the ballpark with his 411-foot blast. “DeMuth has been swinging a great bat for us for a while now,” said Manatees skipper Joe Ayrault. “For him to come up with the big knock, the solo bomb to center was awesome, that was a great win for us.” The Manatees needed a late comeback to even get to the 16 th , with the Hammerheads taking an early lead against Brevard County starter Eric Hanhold. Dexter Kjerstad stepped to the plate with one out in the top of the third and launched a 411-foot homer over the...

Jose Fernandez AUDIO: Jose Fernandez interview The road back from Tommy John surgery, to the Florida Marlins has been a long one for 2013 Rookie of the Year Jose Fernandez. With a return to the Marlins expected July 2, after 13 months away, Fernandez made a rehab start Wednesday against the Brevard County Manatees at Space Coast Stadium. Fernandez threw 79 pitches and hit 99 MPH five times on the stadium radar gun. His only blemish in 4.2 innings of work, was a 387-foot blast to left field off the bat of Manatees left fielder Michael Ratterree. “The kid (Ratterree) put a pretty good swing on it,” Fernandez said of the homer. “It was a good change-up and he put a pretty good swing on it. That happens, that’s baseball. That’s why you gotta stay humble.” “I’m just glad it wasn’t his 97 fastball,” said Ratterree of the home run pitch from Fernandez. “Something a little slower, but I guess I just put a good swing on it and tried to be aggressive against him.” Ferna...

Javi Salas 6/17/15 On a night when the Brevard County Manatees faced one of the Major League’s best pitchers in  Jose Fernandez ,  Javi Salas  stole the show, throwing a complete game for the Manatees and earning a 2-1 victory over the Jupiter Hammerheads on Wednesday. Jose Fernandez - 6/17/15 Fernandez, who is rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery, will be back with the Marlins on July 2, but on this night he was showing the stuff that made him the 2013 Rookie of the Year. He threw 4.2 innings on Wednesday, striking out 10, walking one and allowing four hits. “When you’re facing guys like that, you’re gonna be geared up,” said Manatees manager Joe Ayrault. “You face rehabbers in this league all the time. Spring training, you’re getting ready and they love facing guys like that, big names, especially like him. You dial up your game and lock it in a little bit more.” The only mistake Fernandez made was when he threw  Michael Ratterree  a second...

Eric Hanhold & Dustin Houle The Brevard County Manatees were blanked for the third time in the last four days on Monday, as the Jupiter Hammerheads hung on for a 1-0 win in the series finale at Roger Dean Stadium. The game took one hour and 46 minutes and the teams combined for eight hits. Five of those hits were off the bats of Brevard County, but they just couldn’t scratch across a run. Manatees’ starter Eric Hanhold was the unfortunate victim of the lack of run support. He did not allow a hit until there was one out in the fourth inning. A single to Justin Bohn was the first offense to speak of for the Hammerheads. Hanhold came back to pick off Bohn and got Brian Anderson to fly out. It was a tough luck night for Hanhold (2-5) and the only run he gave up, came in the fifth inning. Taylor Ard led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. A single by John Norwood got Ard to third and Hanhold came back to get a double play off the bat of Brian Schales, wh...

Dustin DeMuth The Jupiter Hammerheads offense exploded Sunday, as they pounded out 15 hits and 13 runs, en route to a 13-3 victory over the Brevard County Manatees, at Roger Dean Stadium. Brevard County starter  Kodi Medeiros , who was making his first start in exactly a week, as back spasms held him to just  two innings last week  in Dunedin. His outing on Sunday was even shorter, as he was lifted after 1.2 innings. He was not fully to blame, as there were two errors committed, leading to three unearned runs on his line in less than two innings.  Dexter Kjerstad led off with a double in the bottom of the first. He moved to third on a balk and came home when Brian Anderson hit a roller to third that went through the legs of Jose Cuas. John Norwood was hit by a pitch and Brad Haynal came through with a two-run double, giving the Hammerheads a 3-0 lead. None of those runs were earned, due to the error. Medeiros (2-5) got the first out in the second i...

Fidel Pena The Jupiter Hammerheads got their second consecutive 2-0 shutout of the Brevard County Manatees on Saturday night, at Roger Dean Stadium. The Manatees had eight hits Saturday, compared to the five they had Friday night , but they were not able to get the big hit they needed. Johnny Davis led things off with an infield single against Jupiter starter Luis Castillo in the top of the first. With that, Davis upped his consecutive on-base streak to 27 games. Davis would later be caught stealing and the Manatees came up empty in the top of the first. Fidel Pena would single to start the second inning and would be caught stealing, only to have Elvis Rubio double moments later, costing the visitors a run.  Manatees’ starter Jon Perrin pitched well Saturday, but after hitting Brad Haynal with a pitch in the second inning, he made a wide throw to first on a pickoff attempt and Haynal went all the way to third on the error. Chris Hoo’s sacrifi...

Clint Terry The Brevard County Manatees hit the road Friday night, starting a four-game series against the Jupiter Hammerheads. It was a tough night for the Manatees’ offense as they were shut out 2-0, at Roger Dean Stadium. Brevard County (14-27) scattered five hits, all singles. Johnny Davis led off the game with an infield hit, against Hammerheads starter Dillon Peters . That hit extended his consecutive on-base streak to 26 games. He got it out of the way early, but did not get another hit the rest of the night. Angel Ortega followed with a single and it looked like the Manatees were in business. Unfortunately, Dustin DeMuth followed with a strikeout and Davis was then caught on the front end of a double steal. Ortega was safe, but he was stranded there when Fidel Pena struck out. Clint Terry (0-1) made a spot start for the Manatees, in place of Kodi Medeiros, who missed the start presumably because of the back spasms he suffered last weekend in his start at Dune...