Cardinals Take Finale From Jupiter, 6-4
Jupiter got on the board first with a run in the fourth inning. Christian Yelich led off with a double and came around to score on a J.T. Realmuto ground out.
The Cardinals responded quickly though in the top half of the fifth. Jupiter starter Adam Conley handled the Palm Beach lineup with ease the first time through, but the Cardinals picked their spots in the fifth frame. Jeremey Patton and Nick Longmire both reached on one out infield singles. A Tyler Rahmatulla sac fly tied the game at 1-1, and Ronny Gil followed with a single. Mike O'Neil put the Cardinals up 3-1 on a bad-hop double to left field.
The Hammerheads regained the lead with a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the sixth. Jupiter loaded the bases in the frame with three straight singles by Marcell Ozuna, Yelich and Mark Canha. Realmuto drove in Yelich with a sac fly. Two batters later, Taylor Krick put the Hammerheads on top with a two-run single to make the score 4-3.
Again, Palm Beach had a response in the top of the seventh. O'Neil delivered a two-out RBI-double to tie the game at 4-4.
The Cardinals took the lead for good off Jupiter reliever Chris Squires in the eighth. After a strikeout, Raniel Rosario reached on an error. Luis De La Cruz followed with a double. The go-ahead run came in to score on another error off the bat of Patton. Longmire added a sac fly to put Palm Beach up 6-4.
Squires (1-2) was charged with the loss for Jupiter. In his Roger Dean Stadium debut, Conley went five innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He struck out five.
Zach Russell (2-1) picked up the win for Palm Beach. He pitched two and one-third innings in relief of Ryan Sherriff. Russell allowed just one hit in his appearance. Aidan Lucas notched his first save of the season for the Cardinals.
The Hammerheads will hit the road for six games beginning tomorrow night in St. Lucie against the division rival Mets.