TAMPA, Fla. – Following a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay, the Tampa Tarpons and Lakeland Flying Tigers went to extra innings Saturday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field, where Lakeland emerged with a 3-1 victory.
Wyatt Parliament turned in another strong outing in his 12th start of the season. The right-hander tossed five scoreless innings, allowing no runs while striking out four.
Tampa broke through first in the bottom of the second. Brando Mayea sparked a two-out rally with an infield single before Luis Escudero followed with a base hit to put runners on the corners. Dax Kilby then hit a ground ball to shortstop, reaching safely on a fielder's choice as Mayea crossed the plate to give the Tarpons a 1-0 lead.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the seventh, when Lakeland evened the game at 1-1 with a two-out RBI single.
With the game shortened to seven innings due to the late start, Tampa had an opportunity to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh but was unable to capitalize, sending the contest to extra innings.
Lakeland wasted little time taking control in the eighth. Javier Osorio launched a two-run homer to put the Flying Tigers ahead 3-1, and the Tarpons were unable to answer in the bottom half.
The Tarpons and Flying Tigers wrap up their six-game series Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 PM at George M. Steinbrenner Field.