Mission Notes vs. Dunedin (April 17-19)

THE FLYING TIGERS (7-3) ... Tony Plagman, Wade Gaynor and Brent Wyatt combined for 10 hits last night as Lakeland downed Daytona 9-6 to complete a sweep of the Cubs. The win, Lakeland’s third in a row and sixth in their last seven outings, puts the Flying Tigers into a first-place tie with Clearwater in the FSL North. In last night’s game, Lakeland collected 15 hits – a season high – and is batting .307 the last three games. The Flying Tigers are now batting .256 on the season while the pitching staff ranks sixth with a 3.61 ERA.

DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS (2-8) ... The Blue Jays began their season 0-6 before beating Lakeland in game three of their series and now stand at 2-8 on the season. Brad Glenn is tied for the league-lead with four homers - two of which have come against Lakeland - and is fourth with a .711 slugging percentage. A.J. Jiminez is second in the FSL with five doubles. The Blue Jays are last in the league with a .234 average and have scored a FSL-low 32 runs. Dunedin is tied with Brevard County for the league-lead with 13 bases. Blue Jay pitchers rank seventh in the FSL with a 3.89 staff ERA.

LAKELAND PROBABLE PITCHERS:

• Sunday - Trevor Feeney (1-0, 3.48) ... did not get a decision in last start on April 12 at Dunedin, going 5.1 innings and allowing seven hits ... got the win in first start holding Tampa to four hits and one run in 5.0 innings on April 7.
• Monday - Drew Smyly (0-0, 3.75) ... worked 6.1 innings and gave up five runs, four earned at Dunedin on April 13 ... has 11 strikeouts and just one walk in 12.0 innings.
• Tuesday - Cole Nelson (0-1, 4.50) ... went 4.0 innings against Daytona in last start on April 14 ... gave up three runs on five hits ... has nine strikeouts while walking two over 10.0 innings.

LAST MEETING ... Lakeland took two of three games played last week in Dunedin winning the first two games before Dunedin won the series finale to record the Blue Jays’ first win of the season. Gustavo Nunez was 7x12 (.583) with a double, triple and home run in the three games while Wade Gaynor was 4x13 (.308) with a pair of doubles and three runs batted in. Justin Jackson led Dunedin with three hits in five at bats over two games while Kenny Wilson was 5x9 in the three games. Victor Larez and Jordan Pratt picked up the wins for Lakeland while Matt Wright got the win for the Blue Jays.

TERRIFIC TONY ... To say Tony Plagman is on fire is an understatement. In the Daytona series, Plagman went 9x12 for a .750 clip with two doubles and eight runs batted in. His hot series has raised his batting average 129 points to .450 – good for third in the FSL. His eight RBI in the series gives him a league-leading 15 runs batted in – three more than the second place hitter. His 18 base hits now ranks third best in the league while his 27 total bases is also third best.

CLOSE ONES ... Six of Lakeland’s games this year have been decided by one run with the Flying Tigers splitting those six games. Two others – both won by Lakeland – were decided by two runs.

THE CLOSER ... With his save in last night’s game, Kenny Faulk now has three saves which is tied for second best in the FSL.

PATIENCE OF JOB (uh, JORDAN) ... First baseman Jordan Lennerton has drawn a league-high 11 walks so far this season.

GOING HOME ... Shortstop Gustavo Nunez, who has reached base in 12 consecutive games, leads Lakeland with 10 RBI which is tied for second-best in the FSL. Prior to last night in which he was held hitless, Nunez was 10x29 (.345). He is now 10x34 (.294) his last six games.

STREAK FOR GAYNOR ... Wade Gaynor has collected at least one base hit in five consecutive games and has hits in seven of the eight games he has played. In his five-game streak, Gaynor is 8x21 (.381).

SUNNY SUNDAY ... The first game of this series is Lakeland’s first Sunday home game of the 2011 season. In 2010, the Flying Tigers compiled an 8-11 mark on Sunday.

HOME ATTENDANCE ... Last night’s crowd of 1,897 was a season-high and was Lakeland’s third of the season with 1,000-plus fans.

NEW CREW MEMBERS ... Shawn Teufel was placed on the disabled list on Friday while Ryan Soares, who had joined the club on April 11, was sent back to extended spring training. Taking the vacated roster spots, are Jay Voss and Zach Samuels. Voss pitched in 11 games for the 2010 Flying Tigers and had 33 appearances at AA Erie. Samuels was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2009 by Detroit out of Cal-Santa Barbara and was 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA at West Michigan in 2010.

LAKELAND PROMOTIONS ...

• Sunday (April 17): All kids 14 and under receive free admission and catch play catch on the field at noon and following the game, the kids can run the bases. All fans will receive a voucher for a free sundae, compliments of Dairy Queen.
• Monday (April 18): $1 hot dogs and 2-for-1 ticket offer in the Ledger, compliments of the Ledger Media Group.
• Tuesday (April 19): Baseball Wingo sponsored by Natalie’s Sports Bar and Grill.

FROM THE BOOKSHELF ... New York Times columnist Dan Barry has just released his new book, “Bottom of the 33rd” about the longest game ever played in baseball. In 1981, Pawtucket and Rochester locked horns for 33 innings, the longest game ever played in professional baseball. Two players on the field that night were future Hall of Famers, Billy Ripken, Jr., and Wade Boggs. A third player, the catcher for Rochester who caught 31 innings in the game, was over very own Flying Tigers’ manager, Dave Huppert. The start in that game was Huppert’s second of that season.