Pache Homers Again as Fire Frogs Fall to Tortugas

DAYTONA, Fla. (July 11, 2018) - The Florida Fire Frogs fell behind early against the Daytona Tortugas on Wednesday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, and ultimately fell, 6-2, forcing a rubber match heading into Thursday's series and season finale against the Cincinnati Reds' affiliate.

Daytona (12-8, 49-37) opened up the scoring with a four-run first against Jeremy Walker  (2-9). With runners at first and second, Bruce Yari bounced a high chopper to short with the runners going. The left-handed hitter was just able to leg out an infield single, with Randy Ventura scoring on the play.
Three pitches later, Daniel Sweet hit his second three-run home run of the series to stretch the Fire Frogs' deficit to four after the first frame.
Cristian Pache  (2x4, R, HR, RBI) continued to stay red hot at the dish, as the 19-year-old launched a 417-ft. blast to left to bring Florida (9-11, 38-48) within 4-1 in the top of the third.
Walker rebounded to not allow any runs in the second and third innings, but yielded a two-run shot to Brantley Bell with two outs in the fourth to stretch hole out to five runs for the visitors.
The 6-foot-5 hurler finished the night with six runs allowed on nine hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
Lucas Herbert  (2x4, 2B, RBI) brought the road team within four with an RBI single against Kevin Canelon in the sixth, pushing across Braxton Davidson  (1x4, R).
The Fire Frogs left eight men on base on Thursday night, stranding at least one runner in all but one frame. The team finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on the night.
Florida takes its final shot at the series victory in the rubber match on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. LHP Tucker Davidson  (5-6, 4.11) takes the mound for the Fire Frogs against the Tortugas' RHP Andrew Jordan (1-0, 1.50). First pitch is schedule for 7:05 p.m., with coverage starting at 6:50 p.m. on the Florida Fire Frogs Broadcasting Network.
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.
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