By SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS

TAMPA -- The Fort Myers Miracle flexed their muscles on Tuesday night at
Legends Field and took a 5-4 victory against the Tampa Yankees for their sixth
win
in a row to start the season.

The Miracle used three solo homers en route to the victory.

Trailing 2-0 in the third inning, Kyle Geiger hit a 2-0 fastball over the
left-field wall for his first home run of the season and just the third homer of
his career. One inning later, Brock Peterson launched a pitch over the
left-center field wall for his first homer of the season, to tie the game at 2.
Two
batters later, Scott Whitrock crushed a pitch over the left-field wall for a
3-2 Fort Myers advantage.

After the Yankees tied the Florida State League game at 3 in the fifth
inning, Whitrock plated Matt Moses with an RBI ground out in the sixth. The
Miracle
added an insurance run in the seventh on a two-out, RBI double by Felix Molina.

The Yankees got to within 5-4 on a sacrifice fly by Matt Carson in the bottom
of the seventh, but couldn't get any closer. Miracle closer Julio DePaula
made it interesting in the ninth, when he walked Hector Made and Eric Verbryke
with one out. After Carson's fielder's choice moved Made to third, DePaula got
Erold Andrus to strike out to end the game.

The Miracle trail only their 1994 and '96 clubs, who began 9-0, for the best
start in franchise history.

Fort Myers will look to add to its hot start at 7 tonight in the finale of
the series. The Miracle will send left-hander Errol Simonitsch (1-0, 0.00) to
the mound to start against Yankees righty Justin Jones (0-1, 5.06).

Published on April 13, 2005


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