Edgington Strikes Out Ten in 5-0 Defeat

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—Brian Edgington struck out a career-high ten batters over 5.0 innings, but the Rumberos de Daytona went cold at the plate as they fell to the Jupiter Hammerheads 5-0 on Friday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Jupiter (28-21) has now secured the series victory by taking the first games against Daytona (22-27), who closes out a tough month of May, despite Edgington becoming the first Daytona pitcher since 2022 to record ten strikeouts in a start.

In the first inning, Edgington surrendered a one-out double, but struck out the other three batters he faced in the inning, foreshadowing his night on the mound. The bottom half of the frame saw Daytona pick up a one-out double by Ricardo Cabrera, who extended his on-base streak to 13 games. However, Jupiter starter Keyner Benitez did not allow him to score.

In the second, the Hammerheads took the lead. Colby Shade led off with a double, stole third, then scored with one out on a single to right by Tony Bullard to put Jupiter ahead 1-0.

The Rumberos also picked up a leadoff double, as Esmith Pineda lined a rocket into the left-field corner. He went to third on a flyball, but Benitez induced a groundout with runners on the corners to end the inning.

Edgington went back to work, striking out two in a 1-2-3 third, then dodged a two-out triple in a scoreless fourth as he tied his career high with his eighth punchout. He then threw a 1-2-3 fifth, ending the inning by striking out Jordan McCants looking for his tenth strikeout of the night.

All the while, Daytona did little against Benitez, who erased a fourth-inning single with a double play. A two-out walk in the fifth chased him for Justin Storm, who coaxed a groundout to end the inning.

Edgington returned for the sixth, but allowed a leadoff double before Ryan Ignoffo singled in a run to chase Edgington. Jonah Hurney entered, but the Hammerheads kept hitting, as an RBI double by John Cruz added a run and Bullard put the finishing touches on a four-run inning with a two-run double to put Jupiter ahead 5-0.

Storm (2-1) shut down Daytona in 1-2-3 sixth and seventh frames to put himself firmly in line for the win. Meanwhile, Hurney settled down nicely, facing the minimum in the seventh and eighth innings as he worked 3.0 innings in relief.

In the bottom of the eighth, Daytona loaded the bases against Holt Jones with two outs on a pair of infield singles and a hit batter, but a strikeout ended the inning. In the ninth, two more hits, including the second of the night for Pineda, followed against Jack Sellinger, but the Rumberos couldn’t draw any closer as Jupiter won 5-0.

The Tortugas will play game five of the series against Jupiter on Saturday night. Daytona will start LHP Adam Serwinowski (1-1, 2.73) while Jupiter’s starter is still to be determined. Tomorrow will see the first 500 fans through the gates receive a Tortugas-themed pickleball paddle courtesy of Progressive Medical Research and Go Gut. First pitch from Jackie Robinson Ballpark is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network and MiLB.tv/Bally Live with Brennan Mense beginning at 6:20 p.m.