Peña, Contreras Each Collect Four Hits in 15-3 Blowout

TAMPA, Fla. – Yostin Peña and Paul Contreras led a relentless offensive attack for the Tampa Tarpons (32-17) Wednesday night, each collecting four hits in a 15-3 rout of the Daytona Tortugas (32-18) at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Peña went 4-for-6 with a two-run homer and five RBI, while Contreras finished 4-for-6 with a double and two RBI as Tampa piled on 17 hits. The Tarpons went 9-for-22 with runners in scoring position and finished the night with 12 walks.

Tyler Boudreau made the start for Tampa, fresh off a brief appearance in Double-A Somerset, where he picked up the win in relief. In four innings of work, he allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four.

The Tarpons jumped in front with a five-run second inning, highlighted by Ediel Rivera's three-run homer to right field. After Blake Cyr and Tyce Armstrong opened the frame with back-to-back walks, Rivera launched a 2-1 changeup over the right-field wall to give Tampa a 3-1 lead.

Dax Kilby followed with a triple to right-center, and Peña brought him home with a single to left. Contreras then doubled to left-center, scoring Peña and extending the lead to 5-1.

Daytona trimmed the deficit with a solo homer from Jalen Hairston in the third, but Tampa responded in the bottom half when Cyr scored on a force out to restore the Tarpons' four-run advantage at 6-2.

The Tarpons added two more runs in the fourth. Contreras singled to open the inning before Bear Harrison was hit by a pitch, and Anthony Potestio lined a ground-rule double into right-center to score Contreras. Diego Castellanos followed with an RBI single to push Tampa's advantage to 8-2.

Daytona added another run in the fifth, but the Tarpons answered once again. Kilby earned a four-pitch free pass and eventually came around to score when Potestio drew a bases-loaded walk.

Tampa kept its foot on the gas and broke the game wide open in the sixth. After Cyr singled and Armstrong walked, Rivera reached on a single to load the bases. Kilby's grounder brought home Cyr, and Peña followed with a two-run blast to left field, his second home run of the season, to extend the Tarpons' lead to 12-3.

The Tarpons tacked on three more runs in the eighth. Cyr and Armstrong both walked before Kilby singled to center, setting the stage for Peña to deliver again. Peña's two-run single to right-center scored both Cyr and Armstrong, and Contreras followed with an RBI single to bring home Kilby and cap the scoring at 15-3.

Anthony Mena earned the win in relief, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out two. Matthew Tippie followed with 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out three of the four batters he faced to close out the victory.

The Tarpons and Tortugas return to action tomorrow night for Women’s Networking Night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.