Fire Frogs Take Pitching Duel Over Miracle

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 10, 2018) - For a third consecutive night, the Florida Fire Frogs were in a nail-biter, as the road team took out the Fort Myers Miracle, 1-0 at Hammond Stadium on Tuesday night. The contest was the fourth time in five games the Fire Frogs had a game decided by two runs or less to start the 2018 season.

Florida (2-4) cracked the scoreboard with a run in the fifth against reliever Colton Davis (1-1). Justin Ellison (1x3, R, SB) reached on an error from second baseman Nelson Molina, and stole second with Anfernee Seymour (2x4, 2B, RBI, 2 SB) at the plate.
Seymour smacked a ground rule double off the batter's eye in center to bring home Ellison to give the visitors the lead.
Bryse Wilson and Sean Poppen dueled throughout their starts, with neither starter making it past the fifth fourth inning due to pitch count.
Wilson made his 2018 debut for the Fire Frogs, and the 20-year-old did not disappoint in his first start at the Advanced-A level. The right hander struck out five while giving up five hits and walking a batter through 3.2 innings of work on 65 pitches. The North Carolina native left with runners at second and third with two outs in the fourth before giving way to Jon Kennedy (1-0).
Kennedy struck out fellow Australian Aaron Whitefield to escape the jam and keep the game scoreless. The 6'9" lefty did not allow a baserunner through his 2.2 innings out of the bullpen, striking out three along the way.
Poppen was equally as impressive for Fort Myers, as the product of Harvard struck out seven batters and gave up just three hits through his four frames in the no-decision.
Devan Watts bounced back with three punchouts in 1.2 innings, leading to Sean McLaughlin's (SV, 1) first save of the season with a hit allowed in the ninth.
Fort Myers (3-3) had scoring chances in the first four innings, but left runners stranded in scoring position in each frame, and left the tying run at third to end the game.
The Fire Frogs go for the series lead in game three of the four-game set on Wednesday night at Hammond Stadium. RHP Jeremy Walker (0-0, 4.91) takes the bump for Florida against LHP Anthony Marzi (0-0, 0.00). First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
Florida returns to Osceola County Stadium for a seven-game homestand beginning Tuesday, April 17 against the St. Lucie Mets and Lakeland Flying Tigers. The seven games feature Los Coquis Night on April 19, and Superhero Night on April 21.
For ticket and promotional information, please visit floridafirefrogs.com.
About the Florida Fire Frogs
The Florida Fire Frogs are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and compete in the Florida State League. The Fire Frogs play their home games at Osceola County Stadium, located at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla. For more information, please visit www.FloridaFireFrogs.com, and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
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