Dunedin Falls 11-7 in Season Opener

The Dunedin Blue Jays fell in the season opener to the Tampa Tarpons 11 to 7. In a marathon of a contest that saw 19 hits across both teams, the total game time came just shy of 4 hours.

The Blue Jays went behind early with Adrian Hernandez allowing one run due to a pair of walks and a single by Jake Sanford in the first. The Tarpons then struck again in the third frame by way of a solo home run from Trevor Hauver. Overall, Hernandez finished 2.1 innings with two earned runs and four strikeouts to begin the season.

A deficit didn’t phase the Dunedin squad as they struck for three runs of their own in the top of the fourth to grab the first lead of the season. Justin Ammons had the first hit of the year in the third before the scoring began. Mack Mueller drove in Zach Britton for the first RBI of the season, after Britton reached base from a walk. PK Morris followed with a walk of his own, and Addison Barger gave the Blue Jays a lead driving in Mueller with Morris scoring from an error by the Tarpons.

It was a tough day for the pitching staff in whole as the walked 12 batters with nine strikeouts, and three long balls cut into any comeback attempts throughout the game. Brandon Eisert was the lone pitcher to not allow an earned run out of the bullpen with one strikeout in his 0.2 innings of work.

The middle innings were a roller coaster of emotions as the Blue Jays fell behind 7-4 in the 5th inning before storming all the way back in the 6th. Addison Barger hit the first home run for the Blue Jays, a two-run shot bringing home Harry Ray. This was part of a three-hit game for Barger, who finished a triple shy of the cycle. Justin Ammons had the other multi-hit day hitting his first professional home run of his career two batters after Barger.

Dunedin fell behind for good in the bottom of the frame, allowing three runs in the 6th and an insurance run in the 8th. The offense finished 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position but left nine runners on base. The team looks to get in the win column for the first time tonight at 6:30 against the Tarpons.