After Clutch Hit by Sensley, Tarpons Walk-Off in 10th, 6-5

TAMPA, Fla. - Trailing by a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Steven Sensley lined a game-tying RBI single to force extra innings before Pablo Olivares delivered a walk-off RBI single in the 10^th as the Tampa Tarpons defeated the Florida Fire Frogs, 6-5, in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The Tarpons were 0-5 in extra-inning games prior to the win, which proved to be their third walk-off victory of the season. Tampa (5-5, 33-43) has now won nine-straight games in the season-series against Florida (3-8, 28-49).
Dermis Garcia opened the scoring with a two-out, two-run home run off RHP Nolan Kingham in the first, smashing an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left-center for his 16^th of the season, tying him with Bradenton's Dylan Busby for most in the Florida State League.
Tampa was forced to use five pitchers after RHP Shawn Semple logged his shortest outing of the seasons. The 23-year-old allowed three earned runs on five hits and a career-high four walks in two and two-third innings, throwing 47 of 76 pitches for strikes.
After pushing across a run on two hits in the second, Florida loaded the bases with one out in the third. Semple walked Jeffrey Ramos, forcing home the tying run. A strikeout later, Semple walked Drew Lugbauer, giving the Fire Frogs a 3-2 lead. RHP Greg Weissert relieved Semple and got a flyout by Jordan Rodgers to leave the bases loaded.
Garcia doubled and advanced to third on a base hit by Isiah Gilliam to begin the bottom of the third. Donny Sands followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Garcia to tie the game at 4-4.
Florida regained the lead on back-to-back two-out doubles by Lugbauer and Rodgers off Weissert in the fifth. The Fire Frogs added another off LHP Anderson Severino in the sixth when Trey Harris walked, took second a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single by Ramos.
Oswaldo Cabrera lined a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Gilliam, cutting the deficit to 5-4.
Kingham retired 15 of the final 16 batters he faced while completing eight innings for the fourth time this season. The 22-year-old allowed four earned runs on eight hits, walking none while striking out eight on 94 pitches (67 strikes).
RHP Hobie Harris struck out the side in the seventh and retired all six batters he faced, adding one more punchout in a perfect eighth. RHP Matt Wivinis struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 ninth, preserving a one-run deficit for Tampa.
RHP Sean McLaughlin (BS, 1) entered for Florida in the bottom of the ninth, and Garcia reached on a fielding error by third-baseman Kevin Josephina to begin the frame. One out later, Sands drew a walk and was pinch-ran for by Omar Carrizales .
After a strikeout by Diego Castillo , Sensley hit an 0-1 pitch on a line drive into right field. Garcia rounded third and slid safely into home, beating a throw to the plate by Harris. Deivi Munoz drew a walk to load the bases, but Estevan Florial flew out to end regulation.
Lugbauer opened the 10^th at second base for the Fire Frogs and advanced to third on a deep flyout to left by Rodgers. Langhorne grounded out to the drawn-in infield, and Wivinis (W, 1-1) struck out Andrew Moritz to keep the game tied at 5-5.
Florial was placed at second base to begin the bottom of the 10^th and advanced to third on a wild pitch by RHP Walter Borkovich (L, 2-2). On the next pitch, Olivares ended the game with a line drive into left-centerfield.
Olivares (3-for-5, 2B, RBI, R) logged his fourth-straight multi-hit game and is batting .424 (14-for-33) over his last nine games. Garcia (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2RBI, 3R) and Gilliam (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) also had multi-hit games. Sands (0-for-2, BB, Sac-F, RBI) extended his on-base streak to a season-high seven games.
The series continues on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on Bark at the Ballpark Night. RHP Janson Junk (2-3, 4.72) scheduled to make the start for Tampa against RHP Brooks Wilson (0-0, 1.90). Live play-by-play of the action will be available on the Tampa Tarpons Baseball Network.
On Strikeout Saturday, strikeouts by Tampa pitchers will determine the special of the day. When a Tarpons pitcher strikes out a batter, a select special will be activated for the night (each special lasts 60 minutes). In addition, fans can collect player autographs on the concourse from 5:40-6:00 p.m.