Hammerheads Drop Series Opener

Coming off of a series win in St. Lucie, the Jupiter Hammerheads were back home at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Tuesday night, and their RDCS neighbors, the Palm Beach Cardinals. Palm Beach took game one of the six-game set 7-2 on Tuesday night.

Both teams scored in the opening frame making it a 1-1 game early. The Cardinals had four straight batters get on base but grounded into an inning-ending double play to only score the lone run. For Jupiter, consecutive singles and a wild pitch scored Javier Sanoja.

Palm Beach would score again in the second before both teams would go scoreless through the sixth inning. In the top half of the inning, Palm Beach scored four runs to make it a 7-1 game. The first five batters for the Cardinals all reached, including a bases-clearing double from Michael Curialle, the reigning Florida State League player of the week.

In the bottom half of the seventh inning, Jupiter would tack on one more run courtesy of an Andrew Fernandez sacrifice fly that scored Chase Luttrell.

On the mound, Jupiter started with Cole Kirschsieper, who picked up his first loss of 2023 bringing his record to 4-1 on the season. The lefty struck out five batters in six innings on Tuesday. Out of the bullpen, the Hammerheads turned to Franklin Sanchez, who joins Jupiter on a Minor League rehab assignment. The six-foot-six hurler didn’t fare too well, allowing four runs in one inning.

To close out the game, Ike Buxton and Josh White combined to pitch two hitless innings for the Hammerheads. In Buxton’s 2023 debut, the former 15th-round draft pick struck out two batters. For White, the righty delivered another strong performance striking out two in the ninth inning.

The Duel of the Dean will continue all week, with the two clubs facing off again Wednesday night. Join Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium for Silver Sluggers night and the chance to win prizes in Baseball Bingo! Tickets are still available here

For Tuesday’s full box score, CLICK HERE