Hunter's Homer, Balcazar's Big Night Lift Tortugas to Win

DAYTONA BEACH—Leo Balcazar had three hits and three RBI and Cade Hunter swatted a tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning as the Daytona Tortugas weathered a rocky eighth inning to defeat the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, 7-5 to even the series.

Daytona (7-10) lost a big lead late for the second night in a row, but this time rallied as they scored their most runs in two weeks while also striking out 17 Fort Myers (9-8) batters, tying a season high in that department.

Fort Myers threatened right away in the first against Daytona starter Kenya Huggins. Two walks and an infield single loaded the bases with one out. However, Huggins buckled down, striking out the next two batters to end the inning with no issues.

After Huggins fanned two more in the second, the Mighty Mussels struck in the third. Danny De Andrade led off with a triple, then scored on a roller deflected by Huggins. Huggins struck out the next two batters to finish a 3.0-inning outing with seven punchouts, but Fort Myers now led 1-0.

However, that lead quickly disappeared. In the bottom of the third, Daytona took advantage of a trio of mistakes in the inning. Malvin Valdez reached on a dropped third strike with one out, and the inning was extended two batters later on an error by pitcher Cory Lewis. Lewis then struck out Victor Acosta, but that pitch got away as well, and another dropped third strike brought home Valdez to tie the game. Balcazar followed with his second hit to bring home Acosta to put Daytona ahead 2-1.

Chris McElvain then entered and immediately found himself in trouble. Following a leadoff walk, a throwing error put runners at second and third with no outs. However, the right-hander sandwiched two strikeouts around a foul out to keep Fort Myers off the board.

In the fifth, Daytona added one more. Carlos Jorge led off with an infield single then stole second. Balcazar followed with his third hit of the night—this one an RBI triple to right-center that pushed the lead to 3-1.

McElvain followed that up with a couple more scoreless innings, ending his outing by working around a two-out triple to finish off an outing of 4.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

His offense gave him a parting gift on the backside of the seventh inning stretch with more insurance. A walk from Michel Triana and a double from Jorge put two men in scoring position. After a strikeout, a wild pitch scored Triana before Balcazar lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Jorge, expanding the lead to 5-1 on Leo’s third RBI of the game.

However, Fort Myers roared to life in the eighth after McElvain departed. Buoyed by three walks and a hit batter, the Mighty Mussels scored a run on a wild pitch before Jorel Ortega cleared the bases with a three-run double down the right-field line, tying the game at 5-5.

Joseph Menefee finally entered the game and ended the inning, stranding two men to keep the game tied. At that point, the offense picked up Daytona. Hunter led off and crushed the second pitch from Juan Mendez in the eighth 379 feet over the left field wall for a leadoff homer. With two outs, Valdez drew a walk, moved to second on a passed ball, then came home thanks to back-to-back wild pitches to give Daytona a crucial insurance run to go up 7-5.

Menefee (3-1) hit the first batter of the ninth inning, but he retired the next three men, with two strikeouts to finish the game, capping off 1.1 innings scoreless from the lefty to finish the game, earning the victory in a 7-5 Dayton victory.

The Tortugas will play game three against Fort Myers on Thursday night. It will be Thirsty Thursday, featuring $1 and $2 beer and soft drink specials. It will also be Health Care Heroes Night with free admission to all health care workers with ID. First pitch is at 6:35 with gates opening at 5:30. RHP Mason Pelio (1-1, 6.17) will get the ball for Daytona against Fort Myers RHP Jose Oliveras (1-0, 1.69). Pregame on the Tortugas Radio Network and Bally Live with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense at 6:20 from Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona Tortugas single-game tickets and ticket packages are on sale now at daytonatortugas.com, (386) 257-3172, or the box office at 110 East Orange Ave.

ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS

The Daytona Tortugas are the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in downtown Daytona Beach, Fla. Jackie Robinson Ballpark also plays host to Bethune-Cookman University, the Jackie Robinson Ballpark Museum, and many community events and initiatives of all sizes throughout the year.