Fire Frogs Play Spoiler Against Hammerheads on Monday Night

JUPITER, Fla. (June 18, 2018) - The Florida Fire Frogs' offense picked up where it left off before the All-Star break, by jumping all over the Jupiter Hammerheads in a 7-0 victory at Roger Dean Stadium on Monday night. The win hampers Jupiter's chances at winning the South division, placing the Miami Marlins' affiliate 2.5 games back, with two games to play in the first half. The Palm Beach Cardinals have three games remaining against the Daytona Tortugas after Monday's contest at Jackie Robinson Ballpark was rained out.

Florida (29-35) took until Ray-Patrick Didder's (1x3, R, BB) infield single to start the third for the team's first hit of the night against Jorge Guzman (0-3), but kept piecing together hits after the speedster reached base.
After a strikeouts to Alejandro Salazar (0x4), Didder swiped his 15th bag of the season to move into scoring position during Shean Michel's (1x4, R) plate appearance. After another strikeout by Guzman, Cristian Pache (2x4, RBI, BB) smacked a single to left to bring home the runner for the one-run advantage.
Brett Cumberland (2x5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI) swatted the first pitch of the fourth inning over the wall in right to push the lead to two. The switch-hitting catcher added an RBI single in the seventh to finished the night with two runs driven in. The product of Cal has brought home nine runners over his last eight games.
The Fire Frogs went deep again in the sixth when Braxton Davidson (2x5, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) rocketed a two-run shot to right for his team-leading 10th long ball of the season, and sixth through 16 games in June. The 22-year-old celebrated his birthday again in the seventh, by capping off the three-run frame with a two-run double to the gap in right-center to stretch the visitors' lead to 7-0.
The seven-run cushion was more than plenty of room for Jeremy Walker (2-6) to work with, as the right-handed hurler whirled a gem on Monday night. The Gardner-Webb product fired in a career-high, eight scoreless innings in the series opener, while limiting Jupiter (39-28) to five hits and a walk. The 23-year-old picked up four strikeouts, and needed 96 pitches (69 strikes) to snap a three-game losing streak.
The third-year pro has handled the Hammerheads through two starts this season, limiting the opposition to two runs on nine hits, a walk and eight strikeouts in 15 innings (1.20 ERA).
Mauricio Cabrera walked the first two batters of the ninth inning, but struck out Justin Twine, and induced a game-ending double play off the bat of Riley Mahan to preserve the shutout.
The Fire Frogs will look to knock the Hammerheads out of contention in game two of the three-game set on Tuesday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. LHP Tucker Davidson (4-4, 3.77) takes the mound for Florida against Jupiter's RHP Ethan Clark (0-1, 3.86). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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.
###