Cobras Battle, Fall in Extras to Open Series

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Aug. 9, 2018) - The Kissimmee Cobras took a late, 3-2 advantage over the Fort Myers Miracle on Thursday night, but ultimately fell in 10 innings, 4-3. The defeat was the fourth straight suffered by the Cobras to open the seven-game homestand, and 11^th loss in extra innings in 2018.

Kissimmee (15-28, 44-65) knotted the game at two apiece with a two-spot in the sixth. Riley Delgado (1x4, R, 2B, BB) started the frame with a double, and moved up to third on Jared James' (2x4, R, BB) single to left. After Braxton Davidson (0x5) struck out, William Contreras (1x3, RBI) lifted a sacrifice fly to left to plate Delgado.
Garrison Schwartz (1x4, 3B, RBI) ripped a triple to the gap in right-center, pushing across James all the way from first to tie the match at two.
The home team grabbed the lead in the eighth when Kevin Josephina (1x4, R, 2B) started things off with a double down the left field line. Marcus Mooney (1x3) sacrificed the runner over, and a wild pitch to Drew Waters (0x5) brought home the go-ahead run.
Sean McLaughlin (1-5) took the one-run lead into the ninth and came within an out of locking down the save, but gave up an RBI triple to Royce Lewis to make the score 3-3.
Fort Myers (27-19, 55-59) grabbed the advantage on a bases-loaded wild pitch from Chase Johnson-Mullins to Rob Rortvedt, scoring Taylor Grzelakowski to put Kissimmee in a one-run hole.
The Cobras had two runners on with less than two outs in the bottom half of the extra frame, but James and Davidson were retired by Ryan Mason (9-3) to end the contest.
Tucker Davidson started for the Cobras and tied a career-high with eight strikeouts on the night. The southpaw allowed two runs on six hits and two free passes to go along with the punchouts. All eight of the Atlanta Braves' 25^th-ranked prospect (MLB.com) came on fastballs.
Florida will look to snap the four-game skid in game two of the four-game set on Friday night at Osceola County Stadium. RHP Jeremy Walker (3-10, 4.42) will take the mound against RHP Andro Cutura (3-6, 4.44). First pitch is scheduled for 6:31 p.m., with coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. with the Florida Fire Frogs Pre-game Show on the Florida Fire Frogs Broadcasting Network.
The Florida Fire Frogs will transform into Los Coquis for Latin Night at the ballpark on Friday night, to celebrate the rich Hispanic heritage of baseball and the Central Florida community!
About the Florida Fire Frogs
 
The Florida Fire Frogs are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and compete in the Florida State League. The Fire Frogs play their home games at Osceola County Stadium, located at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla. For more information, please visit www.FloridaFireFrogs.com, and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
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