Hammerheads Sink Mussels 10-5 in Culpepper Debut
JUPITER, Fla. (August 9, 2024) – The Twins’ top three offensive draft picks all notched multiple hits Friday, but the Jupiter Hammerheads fought back to win 10-5 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Twins’ first round pick Kaelen Culpepper made his professional debut and finished 2-for-4 with a walk. On the
HELLO FIRST ROUNDERS!! 😍😍
— Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (@MightyMussels) August 9, 2024
Kaelen Culpepper and Kyle DeBarge start the night with back-to-back doubles and we've got the lead in Jupiter!
Top 2 | Fort Myers 2, Jupiter 1 pic.twitter.com/nLzJPVClOD
JUPITER, Fla. (August 9, 2024) – The Twins’ top three offensive draft picks all notched multiple hits Friday, but the Jupiter Hammerheads fought back to win 10-5 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Twins’ first round pick Kaelen Culpepper made his professional debut and finished 2-for-4 with a walk. On the first pro pitch he saw, he drilled a ground rule double to center.
Kyle DeBarge and Bill Amick also picked up multiple hits, with DeBarge driving in two and drawing a walk.
After Culpepper doubled to the start the game, DeBarge pulled a double to left to give Fort Myers (54-47, 23-13) a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Amick ripped a single to increase the lead to 2-0.
After Jupiter (56-48, 20-18) got a run back in the bottom of the first, Byron Chourio led off the second with a single. After he stole second, DeBarge smacked a single into center to make it 3-1 Mussels.
Still leading by that margin in the third, Khadim Diaw walked before Jaime Ferrer pulled a double to left. The ball was muffed by Jake DeLeo, allowing Diaw to score to make it 4-1. Two batters later, Ferrer scored on an error to give Fort Myers a 5-1 lead.
However, it was all Jupiter from there. In the bottom of the fourth, JT Mabry led off with a single. After a groundout, Michael Snyder walked. With two men on, DeLeo drilled a double to the wall in center to make it 5-2. The next batter was Gage Miller, who pulled a single into left to cut it to 5-3. Carter Johnson followed by ripping a single past Culpepper to tie the game 5-5.
After a Fenwick Trimble single, Garret Forrester dropped a double down the right field line to score both runners to cap the inning at 7-5 Hammerheads.
Jupiter added three more runs in the fifth on RBI from DeLeo, Miller and Johnson once again.
The Mussels can still clinch the series with a win at 6 p.m. on Saturday. RHP Adrian Bohorquez will start for Fort Myers, opposed by RHP Juan De La Cruz. Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.