TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Tarpons came so close to turning a hard-fought battle into a statement win on Thursday night, but Dunedin rallied late for a 9–8 extra-innings victory at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The Tarpons struck first with a big second inning, erupting for five runs to flip an early deficit into a 5–3 lead. Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek and Hans Montero each drew RBI walks before Luis Puello delivered the key blow with a bases-clearing double that briefly put Tampa in control.
The Blue Jays answered with runs in the third and fourth innings to even the score at five, but Tampa’s bullpen steadied the game through the middle frames. Jordarlin Mendoza worked out of trouble in the fifth before tossing a clean sixth inning, and Pedro Rodriguez later escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh by striking out Jake Cook, looking to preserve the lead.
Tampa regained control in the sixth behind a mammoth home run off the bat of Jackson Lovich. After Engelth Urena drew a walk and Santiago Gomez was hit by a pitch, Lovich launched a three-run homer off the batter’s eye in center to put the Tarpons ahead 8–5. It marked his fourth home run in the last three games and once again swung momentum back in Tampa’s favor.
Dunedin, however, continued to chip away. The Blue Jays got a run back in the eighth on a Juan Rosas RBI single before pushing across two more in the ninth to tie the game and force extras.
After the Tarpons were held scoreless in the ninth, Dunedin capitalized in the 10th. Aldo Gaxiola delivered the deciding RBI single to bring home the automatic runner, and Tampa went down in order in the bottom half to end the contest.
The Tarpons will look to bounce back as the series continues tomorrow night for Armed Forces Night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.