Late collapse sinks Tortugas after 7-run start in 12-8 loss

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona Tortugas jumped out to a 7-0 lead but could not hold it, falling 12-8 to the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

The Rundown

Daytona struck first and built a commanding early lead.

In the first, Kyle Henley walked, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Bernard Moon to make it 1-0.

The Tortugas broke the game open in the second.

After an error and a double from Dylan King put runners on second and third, Rafhlmil Torres was hit by a pitch, before Henry Hunter crushed a grand slam to right for his first professional home run. Later in the inning, Bernard Moon added a two-run homer as Daytona scored six times to surge ahead 7-0.

St. Lucie began to chip away in the middle innings. In the fourth, two runs scored on an error, cutting the lead to 7-2. The Mets added three more in the fifth, highlighted by a steal of home from Vladi Gomez and a two-run single from Simon Juan, trimming the deficit to 7-5.

Daytona answered in the bottom of the fifth. After Dylan King walked and advanced, a wild pitch brought him home from third to push the lead to 8-5.

The Mets continued to apply pressure late. In the seventh, a wild pitch allowed Randy Guzman to score, and Chase Meggers followed with an RBI single to make it 8-7.

St. Lucie tied the game in the eighth. After Francisco Toledo reached and moved into scoring position, Sam Robertson reached on an error that allowed the tying run to score, evening the game at 8-8.

The game unraveled in the ninth.

The Mets scored four times on four hits, with RBI knocks from Toledo, Vladi Gomez, and Elian Peña, to take control at 12-8.

Daytona put two aboard in the bottom half but could not respond.

Stat of the Game

7 — Daytona led by seven runs after two innings but were outscored 12-1 from the fourth inning on.

Notes

• Daytona falls to 5-9 on the season and 3-5 at home.
• The Tortugas allowed 12 runs over the final six innings.
• Henry Hunter recorded his first professional home run (grand slam) and drove in four runs.
• Bernard Moon went 2-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBI, bringing his season total to 14 RBI.
• Dylan King reached base four times (1-for-2, 3 BB) and scored twice.
• Tyson Lewis committed three errors defensively, leading to multiple unearned runs.

Next Up

Daytona concludes its six-game series against St. Lucie on Sunday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. ET.