Tortugas erupt early, roll past Mighty Mussels 12-6

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona Tortugas exploded for 12 runs behind a barrage of extra-base hits and a dominant relief outing, snapping their three game losing skid with a 12-6 win over the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels on Wednesday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

The Rundown

Fort Myers struck first in the second, capitalizing on a throwing error and a two-run single to take a 3-0 lead.

Daytona answered immediately and emphatically. With one out in the second, Arnaldo Lantigua walked and Rafhlmil Torres reached on a fielder’s choice. Dylan King walked to load the bases, setting the table for Drew Davies, who ripped a two-run triple down the right-field line. Ichiro Cano followed by reaching on an error to bring home another run, and Kyle Henley capped the inning with an RBI double to give the Tortugas a 4-3 lead.

The offense kept rolling in the third. Bernard Moon opened the inning with a double, and later Lantigua drove him in with a double of his own. After a hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases, King delivered an RBI double before Cano cleared the bases with a two-run double. By the end of the inning, Daytona had scored four more times to extend the lead to 8-3.

Fort Myers chipped away with two runs in the fourth, aided by a wild pitch and a balk, but Daytona responded again. Moon doubled to start the bottom half, and Tyson Lewis followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 9-5.

The Mussels added a run in the sixth, but Daytona answered immediately when Torres launched a two-run homer to right-center, his first of the season, extending the advantage to 11-6.

The Tortugas tacked on one more in the seventh. Cano walked and moved into scoring position before Lewis lifted a sacrifice fly to bring him home, capping the scoring at 12-6.

Pitching

Anyer Laureano made his first appearance since August 6, 2024, after undergoing Tommy John surgery, allowing three runs over 3.0 innings in his return to the mound.

The game turned in the middle innings behind Mason Morris, who delivered the longest relief outing by a Tortugas pitcher this season. Morris worked 5.1 innings, allowing just one run on two hits, striking out six, and earning the win.

Stat of the Game

8 — Daytona recorded eight doubles, the second-most in a single game in franchise history and the first time with 8+ doubles since June 9, 2022 (vs. Fort Myers).

Notes

• Daytona improves to 7-16 overall and 4-7 at home.
• The Tortugas have now scored 22 runs through the first two games of the series against Fort Myers’ pitching staff who entered the series with the best team ERA in all of baseball.
• Daytona is now 7-1 when outhitting its opponent.
• The Tortugas recorded their third come-from-behind victory of the season.
• Daytona is now 5-7 when hitting a home run and 4-4 when homering with runners on base.
• The Tortugas recorded 10+ extra-base hits for the first time since June 9, 2022 (vs. Fort Myers).
• Daytona’s 14 hits are tied for the most in a game this season (third time), and the 12 runs are the third-most in a game this year.
• Henley recorded his third 3-hit game and seventh multi-hit game of the season.
• Moon posted his second 3+ hit game and sixth multi-hit game of the year.
• Lantigua recorded his fifth multi-hit game, extending his hitting streak to five games and on-base streak to seven games.
• Torres hit his first home run of the season and recorded his first multi-RBI game of the year.
• Lewis notched his fourth multi-RBI game of the season.
• Davies recorded his second triple and second multi-RBI game of the year.
• Friend extended his on-base streak to 13 games.
• Cano extended his on-base streak to seven games.

Next Up

Daytona continues its six-game series against Fort Myers on Thursday, April 30 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Tortugas RHP Justin Henschel will make his first professional appearance against Fort Myers RHP Matthew Dalquist (0-1, 7.00 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:35pm ET.