Hammerheads Clinch First-Half Title with 8-1 Win Over Tortugas

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona Tortugas stranded 12 runners and went just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position as the Jupiter Hammerheads claimed the series finale 8-1 Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, clinching the FSL East First Half Championship.

The Rundown

Jupiter wasted little time taking control of the game.

Luis Arana and Carter Johnson opened the afternoon with back-to-back singles before a wild pitch brought home the first run. Two batters later, Edgardo De Leon launched a two-run homer to center field, giving the Hammerheads a 3-0 lead before Daytona came to bat.

The Hammerheads added another run in the third. Arana singled and eventually scored on a triple by Johnson to push the lead to 4-0.

Daytona's best opportunity against Jupiter starter Manuel Genao came in the fifth inning. Pablo Nunez walked and Ichiro Cano followed with a single before Rafhlmil Torres was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Kyle Henley hit a high chopper for an RBI infield single to bring home Nunez and cut the deficit to 4-1, but Genao escaped further trouble by inducing an inning ending groundout from Ty Doucette. Daytona left runners on base in six different innings and stranded 12 men overall.

After Mason Morris allowed four runs over 4.0 innings, Brady Afthim kept the game within reach. The right-hander retired all 10 batters he faced across a career-high 3.1 scoreless innings.

Daytona put two runners in scoring position in the eighth after a hit-by-pitch and a double by Drew Davies, but Jupiter reliever Luis Cesar escaped the jam with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts.

The Hammerheads finally put the game away in the ninth. Jupiter loaded the bases before Johnson delivered a two-run single. A run-scoring single by Echedry Vargas and a sacrifice fly from De Leon capped a four-run inning that stretched the lead to 8-1.

Stat of the Day

12 — Daytona left a season-high 12 runners on base while finishing just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Notes

• Daytona fell to 21-42 overall and 14-19 at home.
• Jupiter won the series 4-2 and clinched the FSL East First Half Championship and a playoff berth.
• The Hammerheads improved to 15-6 against Daytona this season.
• The Tortugas dropped to 3-9 in June.
• Daytona fell to 4-14 in day games.
• The Tortugas are now 1-4-1 in home series and 1-9-1 in series overall this season.
• Daytona dropped to 1-32 when trailing after seven innings.
• The Tortugas fell to 7-34 when scoring fewer than five runs.
• Daytona is now 10-4 when recording 10 or more hits.
• Brady Afthim set a new career high with 3.1 innings pitched, retiring all 10 batters he faced.
• Torres recorded his 15th multi-hit game of the season and stole his seventh base.
• Cano collected his seventh multi-hit game of the season and extended his on-base streak to seven games.
• Davies recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season, doubled for the 11th time, and tied his career high with two hits for the 28th time.
• Buten notched his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
• Ian Francis made his professional pitching debut, becoming the third Tortugas position player to pitch this season.

Up Next

The Tortugas hit the road for a six-game road series against the St. Lucie Mets on Tuesday night. First pitch from Clover Park is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET.