KISSIMMEE, Fla. (June 12, 2017) -Tyler Neslony dug in with two on and two outs, trailing by a run in the ninth inning, and blooped home the winning knock to send the Florida Fire Frogs to a 2-1, walk-off victory over the Daytona Tortugas on Monday night to open up
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (June 12, 2017) -Tyler Neslony dug in with two on and two outs, trailing by a run in the ninth inning, and blooped home the winning knock to send the Florida Fire Frogs to a 2-1, walk-off victory over the Daytona Tortugas on Monday night to open up a four-game set at Osceola County Stadium.
Alejandro Salazar (1x3, R, 2B) banged a double down the first base line with out to put the tying run into scoring position for Anfernee Seymour (2x4, R), who reached on an infield single to the left side and put men on first and second against Zack Weiss (1-1).
Alay Lago (1x4) went down on strikes, setting the stage for Neslony's (1x4, RBI) dramatic at-bat.
With the count 0-1, the product of Texas Tech sent a broken-bat blooper of the head of a leaping Nick Senzel at third. Salazar rounded third and scored the tying run as the ball was bobbled in left by Shane Mardirosian.
Seymour hit the gas rounding third as the throw in from left went into second base. Shed Long fired home to try to get the speedy runner, but the native of the Bahamas slid in under the tag of Chris Okey to give the Fire Frogs their second walk-off of 2017.
Devan Watts (1-0) picked up his first win of the season out of the bullpen for Florida (25-38), as the right-hander allowed a hit and picked up a strikeout in just one inning of work.
A.J. Minter made his first appearance in two months and struck out all three batters he faced in the eight.
Fire Frogs' starter Touki Toussaint did not factor into the decision, but the 20-year-old fought his way through a season-high, seven innings on Monday night. The native of Coral Springs, Fla. allowed just one run on a solo home run from Reydel Medina in the second inning, but scattered five hits throughout the game while walking three and striking out five on 100 pitches (59 strikes).
Jesús Reyes did not earn a decision despite holding the Fire Frogs off the scoreboard through eight frames. The 24-year-old gave up just three hits, walked a man and struck out six in the no-decision.
Florida's victory pushes Daytona (32-29) one game back of the Clearwater Threshers for first place in the Florida State League North division with six games remaining in the first half.
The Fire Frogs will look for the two-game lead in the four-game series in game two on Tuesday night at Osceola County Stadium. RHP Enderson Franco (1-4, 8.46) takes the mound for Florida against Daytona's RHP Wyatt Strahan (0-0, 9.00). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., with gates opening at 6:00 p.m. Coverage of the series opener will start at 6:50 p.m. on the Florida Fire Frogs Broadcasting Network.
Tuesday night will be "Fire Rum Tuesday" at the ballpark, where fans can enjoy $3 Fire Rum mixed drinks and $2 tostones. Every Monday through Wednesday home game is "Service Industry Night," where members of the service industry can purchase tickets at a discounted rate.
About the Florida Fire Frogs
The Florida Fire Frogs are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and compete in the Florida State League. The Fire Frogs play their home games at Osceola County Stadium, located at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla. For more information, please visit www.FloridaFireFrogs.com, and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
