Pfeifer Punches Out Palm Beach, 4-2

JUPITER, FLA.: LHP Philip Pfeifer continued his mastery on the mound, spinning a franchise-record 17 strikeouts and getting enough offense behind him to hold off a Palm Beach Cardinals ninth-inning charge as part of a 4-2 triumph on Thursday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

The Fire Frogs capped off their best road trip of the season by going 5-1 and capturing series victories from Clearwater and Palm Beach.
Pfeifer (3-6) yielded just three hits and no walks in eight innings of work while needing just 94 pitches to whiff 17 of the 27 batters he faced.
This was the first time that the Fire Frogs had notched 17 Ks in a nine-inning game and second time in Florida's history racking up 17 strikeouts, joining the 14-inning contest played versus Jupiter on July 26, 2017 which was also played at Roger Dean Stadium.
The Fire Frogs supported Pfeifer with an unearned run in the third against LHP Diego Cordero. Brett Langhorne singled and Shean Michel reached on an error from Cardinals shortstop Imeldo Diaz to put two on. With CJ Alexander batting, catcher Dennis Ortega tried to pickoff Langhorne at second, but threw the ball into center instead. Wadye Ynfante booted the ball further, enabling Langhorne to come home and give the Frogs a 1-0 advantage.
Cordero (1-2) couldn't quite make it through seven, tossing 6 and 2/3's of three-hit baseball while permitting an unearned run, two walks, and fanning three while accepting the defeat.
The score stayed the same until Florida got some much-needed insurance runs against RHP Cole Aker. Langhorne and Michel put together consecutive base hits in front of Riley Delgado, who lined a two-run double to left for a 3-0 margin. Delgado scored on a fielder's choice hit into by Kevin Josephina to make it a 4-0 edge.
Langhorne went 2-4 with two runs scored and has hits in four straight assignments. Michel also had a two-hit game.
Aker gave up three hits and three runs over four outs. RHP Edgar Escobar twirled a shutout ninth out of the Cardinals bullpen.
Palm Beach put themselves in position to win in the bottom of the ninth. RHP Lukas Young saw the first three batters of the inning climb aboard, rounded out by Nolan Gorman's RBI double to trim the Florida lead to 4-1. After a lineout and a walk, RHP Sean McLaughlin entered for Young and surrendered an RBI single to Diaz but nothing further.
Young yielded three hits and two runs in 1/3 of an inning. McLaughlin retired two of the three Cardinals he faced to collect his third save.
Dennis Ortega had the best offensive day for Palm Beach, swatting 3-4 with a double and crossing the plate once.  
NEXT UP: Florida looks to keep the momentum going from the road trip as they head back to Osceola County Stadium to open a three-game set with the Fort Myers Miracle on Friday evening at 6 p.m. All tickets are just $2 and the first 250 inside the gates will receive an official Fire Frogs bouncy ball. RHP Tristan Beck (2-1, 4.05) seeks his third straight win opposite RHP Blayne Enlow (2-2, 2.80).
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.