Manatees marathon ends in walk-off

VIERA, Fla. - Down 2-1 entering the eighth inning, the Brevard County Manatees fought back to take a 3-2 lead going into the ninth. However, after a bloop double tied the score at three, the Manatees and Jupiter Hammerheads headed to extra innings. 

Seven innings later with one out in the bottom of the 16th inning, Dustin DeMuth drove a ball off the batter's eye in straight away centerfield, winning the game 4-3 with a walk-off home run

"Some outstanding play tonight to take the lead in the eighth, and then some tough luck in the ninth to tie the game." Brevard County manager Joe Ayrault said, "DeMuth has been swinging a great bat for a while now. For him to come through with the bomb to center, it was a great win for us."

DeMuth finished 3-for-6 on the night with the home run and two RBI, continuing to lead the Manatees offense. The first baseman is batting .340 (16-for-47) in the month of July, this after finishing June with a .325 (27-for-83) batting average and two home runs. 

Following Manatees starter Eric Hanhold's outting of two runs over six innings, the Brevard County bullpen held the Hammerheads to six hits in the final 10 innings. Kender Villegas gave up the tying run in the ninth, but struck out three and gave up just two hits over three innings. Jon Olczak pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit, and Josh Uhen picked up the win pitching the final 3 1/3 innings. 

"Pitching and defense really kept us in this game tonight." Ayrault said, "(Wendell) Rijo made some outstanding plays, and our bullpen did a great job."

"It was one of those deals where you give up a run to tie it and then you just have to stay in it. It becomes who wants it more. It was a tough battle and a great game to watch." 

Jupiter got on the board first in the fourth inning, as David Kjerstad launched a solo home run over the Seacoast Bank Berm Deck, giving the Hammerheads a 1-0 lead. Kjerstad then doubled the lead in the sixth, lining a ball to centerfield to score John Norwood. 

DeMuth got Brevard County on the board in the bottom half to the sixth, scoring Corey Ray on a one out double. The score remained 2-1 until the eighth, when the Manatees mounted their first comeback. 

Jose Cuas began the eighth with a single to center, moving to second on a wild pitch and to third on a fielder's choice. Wendell Rijo then grounded a ball to short, and was able to reach first as Cuas beat shortstop Rehiner Cordova's throw to plate, to tie the game. DeMuth then lined a ball to right single, and right fielder John Norwood's throw toward third base went wild. The errant throw allowed Rijo to slide in just in front of a throw to plate, scoring to give the Manatees a 3-2 lead. 

However, after two quick outs in the bottom of the ninth, a fly ball by Rodrigo Vigil to short centerfield landed and allowed Kjerstad to score and tie the game. Though the run sent the game to extra innings it was the Manatees that were able to pull off the walk-off win.

"For me in the minor leagues, extra innings it's crunch time." Ayrault said, "You have to be at your best, and one mistake can cost you the game. For player development, I hate to say you want to play extra innings every night, but it's when the true gamers come out. It is good to put our players in those crunch time situations. Being in extra innings for every player, it is high pressure. It was good to see the guys get a big win tonight." 

Brevard County (28-59) will continue its series against Jupiter on Thursday at Space Coast Stadium. It will be Thirsty Thursday at the Stadium and first pitch will be at 6:35pm.