Palm Beach Falls 4-3 to Jupiter in Opening Series Finale

The Palm Beach Cardinals fell to the Jupiter Hammerheads 4-3 late in Sunday's ballgame and are unable to complete the opening series sweep at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

It was an early pitchers' duel at The Dean with both starting pitchers holding the offenses to zero runs. Cardinals starting pitcher Jose Davila tossed five perfect innings in his season debut while striking out nine batters. Hammerheads starting pitcher Jake Brooks matched Davila with five shutout innings of his own allowing just one hit, one walk, two hit batters, and striking out four batters.

But after the first five innings, the game would take some weird turns. In the top of the sixth inning, Henry Gomez relieved Davila on the mound for the Cardinals and issued a walk to Colby Shade on a pitch clock violation. Shade would advance to third base on a pick-off throwing error by Gomez and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Cristhian Rodriguez to give Jupiter a 1-0 lead.

Palm Beach immediately responded in the bottom of the frame. The Cardinals drew four walks off of Julio DiLone in relief of Brooks, including Miguel Villarroel's RBI walk to tie the game 1-1. Johnfrank Salazar broke the tie by driving in Tre Richardson III on an RBI groundout to give Palm Beach a 2-1.

The Hammerheads bit back in the top of the seventh inning. Yeral Martinez led off the frame with a single and two batters later Jake DeLeo launched his first home run of the season, a two-run home run to left field, to put Jupiter back on top with a 3-2 lead.

Two innings later in the bottom of the eighth, Kade Kretzschmar led off with a single and Adari Grant would come in as a pinch-runner. With one out, Villarroel notched his second RBI on a single to drive in Grant to tie the ballgame at 3-3.

In the top of the ninth inning, Randel Clemente (0-1) came in relief for Palm Beach and got himself into an early jam with back-to-back leadoff walks. After retiring the next two hitters and with both runners in scoring position, Clemente committed a balk with a one ball-two strike count to Carmine Lane, who he would strike out on the next pitch, which gave Jupiter a 4-3 lead. Xavier Meachem earned his first save with a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning and Jupiter earned the series finale victory with a final score of 4-3.

After an off day on Monday, the Palm Beach Cardinals embark on their first road trip of 2024 and visit the Daytona Tortugas beginning Tuesday April 9th at 6:35 p.m.

About Jupiter Stadium, LTD:

Opening in 1998, the 110-acre complex/stadium is specially designed to house two Major League and two Minor League Baseball Teams. The stadium is home to the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals for Spring Training. The Florida State League’s Jupiter Hammerheads (Class A Affiliate of the Miami Marlins) and Palm Beach Cardinals (Class A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) make their home at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium from April through September. This year-round facility can accommodate the smallest birthday party to the largest corporate outing, while never forgetting that each and every fan is our most important product