Comeback Bid Falls Short in Saturday Matinee

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (June 23, 2018) - The Florida Fire Frogs' effort for a come-from-behind victory fell short in a 5-4 defeat to the Daytona Tortugas Saturday afternoon at Osceola County Stadium. The Fire Frogs dropped to 2-8 against the Tortugas during the 2018 season with the loss.

Florida (1-2, 30-39) opened the scoring for the third consecutive game, using a solo blast to center off the bat of Brett Cumberland (1x4, R, HR, RBI, BB) for the backstop's eighth long ball of the season.
Jeremy Walker (2-7) took the one-run advantage into the third inning before a two-out rally from Daytona (2-1, 29-30). With Hector Vargas on first and two outs, Taylor Trammel doubled to the wall in left to knot the game at a run apiece.
The Tortugas jumped ahead in the fourth with another two-out rally, using an RBI single from Many Ventura to push across Bruce Yari to put the home team behind by a run.
The Fire Frogs took advantage of a couple of defensive miscues in the fifth to tied the game at two. Ray-Patrick Didder (3x3, 2 R, 3B, RBI) singled up the middle to start the frame, and stole second during Jordan Rodgers' (2x4, RBI) at-bat. The throw to second from Morgan Lofstrom sailed into center, allowing Didder to reach third on the play.
Rodgers bounced a grounder back to the mound, but Scott Moss' (7-2) throw to third was too low for Brantley Bell to glove, and caromed into the left-field bullpen, allowing Didder to score.
Daytona countered with a three-run sixth to pull back out in front against Walker. After Stuart Fairchild went down on strikes for the first out, Yari reached on an errant throw which sailed into the dugout from Rodgers at second. Daniel Sweet followed with an RBI double to left put Florida behind, 3-2.
Walker struck out Bell on a curveball, but the pitch got away from Cumberland behind the plate, allowing the batter to reach safely. The right-handed starter struck out Ventura looking for the second out, but surrendered a two-run double to Lofstrom to cap off the frame.
The product of Gardner-Webb finished the day with five runs allowed, but only two were earned in the quality start. The 6-foot-5 hurler gave up eight hits, walked a man, and finished with six punchouts in the losing effort.
Didder and Rodgers pulled the Fire Frogs within a run with run-scoring hits in the eighth inning, but Joel Kuhnel (SV, 10) slammed the door in the ninth to had Florida its second loss of the second half.
Didder finished the game a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish, and scored twice. The native of Aruba has scored four runs over the last two games of the series.
The Fire Frogs will go for the series split in the finale of the four-game set at Osceola County Stadium on Sunday morning. LHP Tucker Davidson (4-5, 4.68) makes his third start of the year against Daytona, while RHP Tommy Bergjans (0-0, 3.86) tosses his first game against Florida. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., with coverage starting at 10:45 a.m. with the Florida Fire Frogs Pre-game Show on the Florida Fire Frogs Broadcasting Network.
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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