Offensive Burst in 9th Inning Propels Blue Jays to 10-7 win Over Lakeland

Lakeland, FL — The Dunedin Blue Jays (48-56, 16-22) took game two against the Lakeland Flying Tigers (52-51, 26-12) 10-7, using a five-run ninth inning to retake the lead after Lakeland scored five unanswered to tie it up in the sixth.

Dunedin started off the scoring in the first with contributions from two players making their Single-A debuts. Blue Jays’ 8th round pick, Braden Barry, led off the ballgame with a single into center, and two batters later, 6th round pick, Jace Bohrofen, went deep to right field, crushing a ball 428 feet to right to give the DJays an early 2-0 lead, both earning a well-deserved hug in the dugout from Hitting Coach Matt Young.

Fast-forward to the fourth with Dunedin still up 2-0, and Nick Goodwin decided to join the "first homer” party by drilling a ball to the berm in left field, a solo-shot for his first professional bomb, putting Dunedin up 3-0.

Later in the fifth, the Blue Jays would threaten again with Abiezel Ramirez and Glenn Santiago starting the inning off with a single and a double respectively to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Then with one out, Tucker Toman lined one off the right hip of Flying Tigers’ pitcher Carlos Marcano, ricocheting slowly into left-centerfield to plate both runners, extending Dunedin’s lead to five, and giving Toman his team-leading forty-second and forty-third RBI’s of the year.

Meanwhile on the mound, Blue Jays’ starter RHP Yondrei Rojas was outstanding. Rojas didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, and was a split-second away from inducing an inning-ending double play to get through five shutout innings. But nevertheless, it was still Rojas’ strongest start of the year, ending his night with five innings, just one run allowed while striking out five and qualifying for the win.

But now with a 5-1 lead, Dunedin brought out RHP Felipe Bello for the sixth, and he struggled with his command in his first appearance back from the Development List. After a run came into score on a sacrifice-fly and Bello’s second walk issued, Donnie Murphy opted to make a call to the bullpen and bring in RHP Josh Mollerus. Mollerus allowed a double to his first batter, Manuel Sequera, scoring two more, but a defensive miscue saw Sequera able to trot in to score on the same play, a “Little League Home Run” to tie the game up at 5-5.

Lakeland kept knocking on the door, threatening again in the seventh and eighth innings, but clutch outs by Mollerus and RHP Kelena Sauer kept the Flying Tigers off the board, heading to the ninth still tied.

That’s when Dunedin gave Lakeland a taste of their own medicine, exploding for five runs in the top of the inning, with RBIs by Toman, Brennan Orf, and Goodwin. Grayson Thurman came in to get the final three outs, but another defensive mistake paved the way for Lakeland to score two, but Thurman was able to shut it down and keep the tying run out of the equation for the 10-7 win.

With the win, Dunedin evened up the series at a game apiece, giving themselves a chance to take a two games to one lead on Thursday night. First pitch for Thursday’s game three is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and live coverage will begin at 6:15 p.m. on the Dunedin Blue Jays Radio Network.