Pitchers Dominate as Offense Shines Again in 13-0 Triumph
TAMPA, Fla. – A quartet of pitchers combined for Tampa’s first shutout of the season as the Tarpons’ (13-4) offense collected 16 hits en route to a 13-0 win over the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (7-10) clinching the series on Saturday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Elijah Dunham paced
TAMPA, Fla. – A quartet of pitchers combined for Tampa’s first shutout of the season as the Tarpons’ (13-4) offense collected 16 hits en route to a 13-0 win over the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (7-10) clinching the series on Saturday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Elijah Dunham paced the hitters with his first-career four-hit game, falling a home run shy of the cycle while driving in four runs. Chad Bell also contributed 4RBI, including his second homer of the season, extending his on-base streak to 16 games.
RHP Sean Boyle made his second-straight start and struck out a pair while stranding a one-out double in a scoreless first. The Mighty Mussels put runners on the corners with one out in the second, but Boyle collected there more strikeouts to escape the jam. Boyle struck out five over two scoreless frames, tossing 31-of-48 pitches for strikes in a no-decision.
Andres Chaparro lined a leadoff single in the second and later scored on an opposite-field two-run home run by Bell off the facing of the left field deck. Pat DeMarco followed with an infield single and took third on a double by Dunham before scoring on an error. Dunham later crossed the plate on an infield hit by Anthony Volpe for a 4-0 lead.
Fort Myers’ RHP Louie Varland found more trouble in the third when Tampa loaded the bases with no outs. One out later, Dunham lined a two-run single into center before Varland struck out the next two batters to strand a pair. Varland (L, 2-1) allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits in three innings, walking two while striking out six on 73 pitches (47 strikes).
RHP Trevor Holloway (W, 3-0) relieved Boyle in the third and retired the side in order. Three-straight singles loaded the bases for Fort Myers in the fourth, but Holloway got a shallow flyout and a pair of punchouts to escape the jam. Holloway added two more strikeouts in a 1-2-3 fifth for a total of five in three innings.
The Tarpons placed runners on the corners with two outs against RHP Hunter McMahon in the fourth and Bell lined an RBI single into left-center for a 7-0 lead. In the fifth, Dunham hit a fly ball into deep left that fell for a triple as left-fielder Willie Joe Garry Jr. lost the ball in the lights. A groundout by Jesus Bastidas cashed in the runner for an 8-0 advantage.
Dunham reached on a hit-by-pitch in the seventh, took second on a wild pitch and third on an error before scoring on a base hit by Volpe for the ninth run. The Tarpons batted around in the eighth against RHP Donny Breek, scoring four more runs on an RBI single by Bell, a two-run double by Dunham and an RBI single by Bastidas to reach a baker’s dozen.
RHP Derek Craft made his first appearance of the season and retired all six batters he faced over a scoreless sixth and seventh innings, including three strikeouts. LHP Clay Aguilar took over in the eighth and stranded a one-out single before working a perfect ninth to close the game, collecting a pair of strikeouts along the way.
All nine Tarpons tallied a hit, including multi-hit games by Dunham (4-for-4, 3B, 2 2B, HBP, 4RBI, 3R), Bell (3-for-4, HR, BB, 4RBI, 2R), Volpe (2-for-5, BB, 2RBI, SB) and Narvaez (2-for-4, BB, 2R).
The series wraps up on Sunday at 12:00 p.m., with RHP Jhonatan Muñoz (0-0, 11.37) scheduled to start against RHP Sean Mooney (0-1, 3.38). On Stay Local Sunday, when fans purchase two (2) Tarpons Sunday game tickets, they receive one (1) FREE pass to a local area attraction.