Big 8th Inning Leads Tortugas to Sweep of St. Lucie

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL—The Daytona Tortugas pulled away with four runs in the top of the eighth inning and took advantage of strong pitching from Jared Lyons and Mason Pelio to win 6-3 on Easter Sunday against the St. Lucie Mets.

Daytona (3-0) starts off the season with a three-game sweep over the defending Florida State League champions in St. Lucie (0-3), who the Tortugas outscored 23-12 over the weekend series.

In the top of the first, Daytona got things off to a quick start against St. Lucie starter Felipe De La Cruz. Carlos Jorge led off with a walk and moved to second on a Cam Collier single. Sal Stewart followed with a single to right. Jorge initially held at third, but the ball was mishandled in right, allowing Jorge to scamper home on the error to put the Tortugas ahead 1-0.

After that, both pitchers took turns working out of trouble. Daytona starter Lyons worked around a single in the first and stranded two runners in a scoreless second. On the other side, a hit batter and a walk chased De La Cruz with one out in the third, but Robert Colina slammed the door shut to keep it a one-run game.

Lyons worked 4.0 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and a walk with five strikeouts, before handing off a 1-0 lead to Pelio.

Pelio threw a 1-2-3 fifth, but rehabbing big-leaguer Jaylin Davis deposited the first pitch of the sixth over the left field wall for a solo homer, tying the game at one apiece.

In the seventh, though, Daytona pulled back in front. After a walk and a hit batter opened the inning, Wendell Marrero deposited a drive to deep left-center that hopped over the wall for a ground-rule double that scored Yassel Pino to put Daytona ahead 2-1.

An inning later, the Tortugas put together the deciding rally. Logan Tanner led off with a double and scored when Malvin Valdez lined a pinch-hit two-bagger of his own to bring in the first run. Three batters later, Cade Hunter singled in a run and Michel Triana put the finishing touches on the rally with a two-run single to left to put Daytona ahead 6-1.

St. Lucie did string together three hits in the eighth to plate two runs, which chased Pelio (1-0) after 3.2 innings of work. However, Easton Sikorski came on and recorded the final four outs, nailing down a win for Pelio, a save for himself, and a sweep of St. Lucie for the Tortugas.

Daytona will have Monday off before opening the home slate on Tuesday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark against the Pal Beach Cardinals at 6:30 p.m. The first 1,000 fans through the gates at The Jack will receive a Tortugas magnet schedule and there will be postgame fireworks. RHP Ryan Cardona will take the hill for the Tortugas against RHP Hansel Rincon for Palm Beach. The Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, will have pregame coverage on the Daytona Tortugas Radio Network beginning at 6:20

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.