Fernandez's Complete Game Sets Up Rubber Match

FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 9, 2017) - RHP Junior Fernandez (W, 2-1) twirled his first career complete game in a 7-1 win for the Palm Beach Cardinals (16-16) over the Fort Myers Miracle (16-17) 5-2 on Tuesday night. The loss for the Miracle sets up a rubber match between the two teams on an 11:05 AM education day start on Wednesday.
Fernandez was aided by his offense who provided early run support against RHP David Fischer (L, 2-2). The Cardinals grabbed a run in the second on a fielder's choice groundout of Blake Drake. In the third, Fischer dealt with runners at first and second, no one out, and Jeremy Martinez trying to put down a sacrifice bunt. The bunt went to the pitcher Fischer who had an opportunity to get the lead runner at third but threw the ball wide of Chris Paul, allowing a run to score on the error. Darren Seferrina then came home on a wild pitch followed by a Casey Turgeon two-run home run to put the Cardinals up 5-0.
Fort Myers took a run back in the fourth against Fernandez when Max Murphy led off with a triple. Nelson Molina then brought him in with a single, but that was all Fernandez surrendered in the way of runs.
Palm Beach added two more irrelevant runs late as Fernandez only needed 97 pitches to complete the game. The 11:05 AM ET first pitch features RHP Keaton Steele against RHP Zac Gallen.
To stay up to date on upcoming promotional nights, follow the Miracle online at Miraclebaseball.com or through social media; Twitter: @MiracleBaseball, Instagram: fortmyersmiracle, Facebook: Fort Myers Miracle, Snapchat: ftmyersmiracle. For further information or questions regarding the 2017 25^th Anniversary Season, call the Miracle offices at (239) 768-4210.