BELOIT—It was a pleasant and sunny Sunday evening down in Jupiter, Florida, where Miami Marlins’ prospects Johnny Olmstead and Mark Coley II were out to dinner after helping the Single-A Hammerheads take five of six against the St. Lucie Mets.
It was then that the duo received the call that they were being called up to play for the Beloit Sky Carp. The two didn’t even arrive in Beloit until Monday night and had a quick turnaround with Tuesday’s 1 p.m. matchup against the South Bend Cubs looming over them.
And it was just about 36 hours after the call that Coley smashed a grand slam over the left-field fence at ABC Supply Stadium in only his second at-bat as a Sky Carp, who blew past the Cubs 11-5 to open a six-game homestand.
“I got down with two strikes early, so I was just trying to fight in the zone and be selective out of the zone,” Coley said. “I had a fastball in that I could handle and it did damage.”
Coley, a 2023 17th-round pick out of the University of Rhode Island, is currently the No. 22 prospect in the Marlins’ farm system. He hit .375 in eight games to start the season in Jupiter and was named the Florida State League Player of the Week.
MLB Pipeline comments that the outfielder’s bat speed and power potential are among the best in the organization.
“Obviously as you just saw, he does some damage,” catcher Joe Mack said. “He can hit really well and plays the field really well. He’s an all-around great player, and we’re happy that he’s here.”
As for the quick turnaround? Coley said that’s just a part of the gig.
“You just have to flip that switch in your mind,” he added. “You’re a little tired, maybe a little jet lagged, but the other team doesn’t care. You just have to grind through it for this one day and go get a good night’s rest tonight.”
Olmstead went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the sixth after starting the first two games of the season for the Sky Carp before spending the next series in Jupiter.
“Mark is a good defender and a big, strong kid that can hit,” manager Billy Gardner Jr. said. “Johnny’s going to make all the plays out there. They’re baseball players. They know how to play the game, prepare really well and get after it. They showed us what they’re capable of doing today.”
So did most of Beloit’s lineup.
A pre-planned bullpen game saw Josh White start the first two innings, where he gave up a solo homer, before Holt Jones struggled with three earned runs on three hits and two walks.
Down 4-0 heading to the bottom of the third, the Sky Carp got to work.
Zamora, who is 5-for-8 to start the young season, got it going with a solo homer to left.
Chase Luttrell walked and one out later Coley was hit by a pitch. A passed ball moved both runners up and Brett Roberts’ made it 4-2 on a fielder’s choice. Mack walked and Torin Montgomery reached on a fielding error to load the bases up before Cameron Barstad cleared them with a hard-hit double that flew past a diving Brett Bateman in center.
“We had really, really good at-bats,” Gardner said. “We competed really well. We took some walks and we got some pitches to hit that we did damage on. Barstad’s hit was huge. He had (the tie-breaking double in Sunday’s win against Peoria), so another big hit for him today.”
In the fourth, Zamora and Olsmtead singled while Luttrell drew a walk to load the bases and set up Coley’s homer. Barstad scored Roberts, who had singled, with a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 10-4.
After the early pitching struggles, Beloit's relievers locked it down.
Edgar Sanchez came on in the third with two on and two outs and got a ground out before throwing a hitless fourth. Kyle Crigger then came in and struck out five and allowed only three hits in three scoreless innings.
“That’s a crucial part,” Mack said. “It’s mid game, anything can happen there. Edgar did a great job coming in and then Crigger came in, shoved and did his thing. They worked really well with each other, and it was an all-around great job by our bullpen today.”
Ignacio Feliz allowed a sacrifice fly in the eighth and a single to start the ninth before he got three-straight outs to end it.
Zamora had two hits as Beloit finished with nine walks and eight hits while taking advantage of a pair of errors.
And after winning the first two games in the opening series at home, Beloit moves to 3-0 at ABC Supply Stadium.
“It was very fun,” Coley said. “I’m just trying to adjust to the new environment and get to know the guys. I know some of them from spring training, but not everybody. Being able to (hit a grand slam) and show what I had to offer on the first day is pretty cool.”
Beloit will next host hundreds of kids from area schools as part of Education Day on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 11:10 a.m.
SKY CARP 11, CUBS 5
South Bend 013 000 010 — 5 11 2
Beloit 005 501 00 — 11 8 1
SOUTH BEND (ab-r-h-rbi) — Bateman, cf, 4-1-2-0, Davis, dh, 3-1-1-0, Rojas, ss, 5-1-2-1, Stevens, rf, 5-0-0-0, Pinango, lf, 4-1-3-3, Long, 1b, 3-1-1-0, Long, 1b, 3-1-1-0, Ramirez, 2b, 3-0-1-1, Howard, 3b, 3-0-0-0, Opitz, c, 4-0-1-0. Totals: 34-5-11-5.
BELOIT (ab-r-h-rbi) — Coley, cf, 4-1-1-4, Roberts, lf, 4-2-1-1, Mack, c, 4-1-1-0, Montgomery, 1b, 4-1-0-0, Barstad, dh, 4-0-1-4, Marinez, 3b, 3-1-0-0, Zamora, 2b, 3-2-2-1, Luttrell, rf, 3-2-0-0, Olmstead, ss, 4-1-2-1. Totals: 33-11-8-11.
E: Rojas, Coley. PB: Opitz. DP: South Bend 0, Beloit 3. LOB: South Bend 8, Beloit 9. SB: Rojas, Roberts, Mack. 2B: Bateman, Barstad. HR: Pinango, Zamora, Coley. SF: Ramirez, Barstad.
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so): SB, Hull (L,0-1,3.0-5-9-6-3-5), Hernandez (2.0-2-1-0-3-2), Patterson (1.0-1-1-1-2-2), Cabrera (2.0-0-0-0-1-3). Beloit, White (2.0-3-1-1-0-0), Jones (0.2-3-3-3-2-2), Sanchez (W,2-0,1.1-0-0-0-2-1), Crigger (3.0-3-0-0-0-5), Feliz (2.0-2-1-1-0-1).
WP: Feliz. HBP: Davis (by White), Coley (by Hull). T: 2:38. Att: 424.
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