DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona Tortugas erased a 15-run deficit with a six-run eighth inning, but the comeback effort came far too late as the Jupiter Hammerheads rolled to a 15-6 victory Friday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
The Rundown
Jupiter wasted no time taking control of the game.
After a leadoff double by Andres Valor, Echedry Vargas launched a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Hammerheads an early 2-0 lead.
The Hammerheads added two more runs in the second when Luis Arana delivered a two-run double following a throwing error by Sheng-En Lin, extending the lead to 4-0.
Jupiter continued to build the advantage in the third. A pair of walks and two wild pitches helped push across two more runs before Abraham Gaitan escaped further damage with the bases loaded.
The Hammerheads scored twice in the fourth on sacrifice flies from Edgardo De Leon and PJ Morlando, then added another run in the fifth on an RBI double by Julio Henriquez to make it 9-0.
Meanwhile, Julio Mendez dominated the Daytona lineup, allowing just three hits over 6.0 scoreless innings while striking out four. The left-hander retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced and did not allow a runner past second base.
Jupiter broke the game open in the sixth. Vargas tripled and scored on an RBI single by De Leon before Morlando followed with a two-run homer. Later in the inning, Henriquez added another RBI double as the lead swelled to 13-0.
The Hammerheads tacked on two more runs in the eighth on Arana's second RBI hit of the night, stretching the margin to 15-0.
Daytona finally broke through in the bottom half of the inning. Yeycol Soriano singled before Henry Hunter crushed a two-run homer to right field. The Tortugas later loaded the bases and scored four more runs on a walk, a wild pitch, and a two-run single from Ichiro Cano, trimming the deficit to 15-6.
The rally would end there as Jupiter retired the final three batters in the ninth to secure the victory.
Stat of the Day
15 — Jupiter scored 15 runs on 18 hits. The most runs Daytona has allowed in a game since April 30 against Fort Myers.
Notes
• Daytona fell to 20-41 overall and 13-18 at home.
• The Tortugas dropped to 2-8 in June.
• Jupiter increased its series lead to 3-1 and improved to 14-5 against Daytona this season.
• Daytona fell to 7-8 against left-handed starters.
• The Tortugas dropped to 1-31 when trailing after seven innings.
• Daytona fell to 7-13 when allowing 10 or more hits.
• The Tortugas are 11-13 when hitting a home run this season.
• Daytona is 7-7 when homering with runners on base.
• The Tortugas fell to 5-36 when being outhit by their opponent.
• Daytona remains 14-9 when scoring five or more runs.
• Hunter hit his third home run of the season and recorded his third multi-RBI game.
• Ian Francis collected his first extra-base hit at the Single-A level with a third-inning double.
• Cano extended his on-base streak to five games and recorded his fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
• Davies extended his on-base streak to six games.
• Anthuan Valencia became the second position player to pitch for Daytona this season.
• Manager Ricky Gutierrez was ejected in the eighth inning.
Up Next
The Tortugas continue their six-game series against the Jupiter Hammerheads on Saturday, June 12 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET.