Tortugas and Hammerheads Outlast Rain, Split Twinbill

DAYTONA BEACH—After a four-hour rain delay, the Daytona Tortugas and Jupiter Hammerheads split a Sunday night doubleheader, with Jupiter taking game one 7-1 and Daytona bouncing back to win the second game 5-2 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona (11-11, 40-47) salvaged the final game of a disappointing stretch of 13 games at The Jack where the Tortugas were just 4-9, as Jupiter (12-12, 47-43) finished off a series victory, taking four of six.

Game one was a classic pitcher’s duel as both offenses struggled to get anything going. Daytona recorded leadoff hits in each of the first three innings, including a leadoff double in the third that was erased on a bizarre double play off a pop-up.

The Tortugas had another chance to score in the fourth as a one-out single from Yassel Pino and a Johnny Ascanio knock put runners on the corners with two outs, but a pop-up ended that inning.

On the other side, Daytona starter Johnathan Harmon allowed two hits in the second and endured a single and an error to put two in scoring position in the third. However, he worked around both runners in both frames, then faced the minimum in the fourth and fifth frames.

Harmon departed after 5.0 innings, allowing four hits, no runs, and no walks, while striking out four and throwing just 62 pitches as he extended a streak of allowing just two runs in his past 25.0 innings.

However, Juan De La Cruz matched Harmon with 5.0 scoreless innings of his own, setting the stage for the fateful late innings.

In the sixth, Luis Mey entered for Daytona, only for his very first pitch to be absolutely blasted over the right field fence by Ian Lewis, who broke the scoreless deadlock with a 450-foot bomb. A single and a walk then set the stage for a two-out RBI single by Harrison Spohn to give Jupiter a 2-0 lead.

Daytona got a run back in the bottom of the sixth off Edgar Sanchez as Pino singled with one out and motored all the way home on a double to right-center by Ascanio, trimming the deficit to 2-1.

In the seventh, though, the bottom fell out for Daytona as Jupiter scored five runs against Jean Correa to put the game out of reach, taking a 7-1 victory in game one.

The nightcap started off better for Daytona against Jupiter starter Collin Lowe as Hector Rodriguez doubled with one out in the first and came home on an RBI single from Pino to stake the Tortugas to an early 1-0 lead.

Ryan Cardona started off the nightcap with a pair of scoreless innings but ran into trouble after issuing a pair of walks in the third. With two outs, Torin Montgomery doubled home both runners, putting Jupiter in front 2-1, which chased Cardona. Brody Jessee came on, though, and ended the inning before tossing a scoreless fourth.

In the bottom of the fourth, Daytona loaded the bases with two outs for Ariel Almonte, who rolled a slow dribbler up the first-base line. Lowe’s off-balance throw to first was not in time, bringing in a run. Victor Acosta also attempted to score on the play and he scored as well when Montgomery’s throw home skipped past the catcher, swinging the lead to Daytona.

An inning later, the Tortugas added two more. Jorge was plunked to lead off the inning and sped all the way around from first when Stewart rolled a double up the left field line. Stewart then came home on an error to extend the lead to 5-2.

After Jessee (1-0) worked a season-high 2.1 scoreless innings to get in line for the win, Jacob Heatherly allowed a hit in the sixth and two walks in the seventh, but spun 2.0 scoreless frames with four strikeouts to nail down his first career save, splitting the twinbill with a 5-2 win.

The Tortugas will have Monday off before travelling to Lakeland to begin a six-game series against the Lakeland Flying Tigers. First pitch from Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland will be at 6:30 p.m. with pregame coverage with the voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, beginning at 6:15 p.m. on the Tortugas Radio Network.

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.