Miracle drop series finale in Lakeland, 5-1

LAKELAND, Fla. - Ben Rortvedt hit three doubles, but the Miracle fell to the Lakeland Flying Tigers after a long rain delay, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Publix Field.
The game was delayed for 35 minutes prior to the start and for another hour and 45 minutes after the sixth inning.
Lakeland led from wire-to-wire. They scored three times in the first inning off Miracle starter Clark Beeker, beginning the frame with three consecutive singles.
The Miracle scored their lone run in the second on a sacrifice-fly by Robby Rinn. Lakeland added single runs in the third and sixth innings.
The Flying Tigers out-hit the Miracle, 14-9. Troy Montgomery, Herlis Rodriguez, and John Valente each had three hits for Lakeland. Rortvedt was 3-for-4 for the Miracle, while Taylor Grzelakowski went 2-for-4.
Fort Myers' best chance to come back was in the fifth inning, when they put runners on second and third with nobody out but failed to score. The Miracle went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Beeker (4-7) suffered the loss. The right-hander allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in six innings. He struck out four. Adam Bray followed with two scoreless innings in relief to lower his ERA to 1.11.
Anthony Castro (6-3) earned the win for Lakeland. He tossed six innings and allowed one run on five hits. He threw just 54 pitches.
Despite the loss, the Miracle took two out of three games in the series.
The seven-game road trip for the Miracle continues on Thursday night in Kissimmee with the first of four against the Florida Fire Frogs. Right-hander Brusdar Graterol will start for Fort Myers. First pitch is 6:31 p.m.