Palm Beach Sweeps Tampa in Double Header Wednesday Night

JUPITER, FL - The Palm Beach Cardinals (27-20) complete the double header sweep of the Tampa Tarpons (18-29) winning game one by a score of 8-7 in 11 innings and game two with a 5-0 shutout victory on Wednesday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The Cardinals are now 5-0 in extra-inning games and have three walk-off wins in 2024.The shutout in game two was the sixth shutout of the season and first one coming in less than nine innings.

It is the first double header sweep of the season for the Cardinals as Palm Beach improves to 2-2 in double headers in 2024. Game one's win was the first walk-off since May 15th when Chase Adkison hit a walk-off two-run home run to beat St. Lucie 2-1. Game two's shutout was the first shutout since May 11th at Jupiter with a 2-0 victory.

Game One:

Beginning Tuesday night, the Cardinals got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs, Miguel Villarroel hit a single and Kade Kretzschmar was hit by a pitch. Jose Cordoba would drive in Villarroel on an RBI single to make it 1-0 Cardinals.

The score remained until the top of the fourth inning. The Tarpons sent 10 men to the plate and notched four hits while the Cardinals committed two errors and a passed ball. Five unearned runs came into score and Tampa took a 5-1 lead.

With the rain looming, Palm Beach came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning trying to extend the game. After Adari Grant led off with a single, Trey Paige hit his first triple of the season to cut the deficit to 5-2. Sammy Hernandez drove in Paige on a groundout to bring in another Cardinals' run. After Villarroel hit a double with one out, Kretzschmar launched his second home run of the season, a two-run blast to right field, to tie the ballgame 5-5. The umpires declared the field unplayable and the game was suspended into Wednesday.

With play resuming, the score stayed at 5-5 until the top of the ninth inning. With two outs, Daury Arias hit a bloop double down the left field line which scored Tomas Frick to give Tampa a 6-5 lead. Palm Beach responded immediately in the bottom of the frame. With Grant at second base after a walk and error and two outs, Hernandez recorded his second RBI of the game on a single to make it a 6-6 ballgame after nine innings.

In the top of the 10th inning, Tampa would score the placed runner from second base on an RBI single by Coby Morales to put the Tarpons back on top at 7-6. In the bottom of the tenth inning, Kretzschmar hit the first pitch of the inning into right field for an RBI single scoring Villarroel from second base to immediately tie the ballgame 7-7. Palm Beach did leave the bases loaded as the game went into the 11th inning.

After Henry Gomez (W, 3-1) kept the placed runner from scoring in the top of the 11th inning, Paige singled to put runners at the corners. Sammy Hernandez provided an RBI single, his third RBI of the game, to score Grant from third base and provide Palm Beach with their third walk-off victory of the season and securing the 8-7 victory in 11 innings.

Game Two:

In a seven-inning contest, the Beach Birds scored early and big in the bottom of the first inning. Palm Beach led off with three consecutive singles with Villarroel recording an RBI to take the early 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Adkison hit a high-chopping single into left field scoring two runs to make it 3-0. With two outs, Johnfrank Salazar smacked an RBI single to center field to cap the scoring in the frame and give Palm Beach a 4-0 lead.

The Cardinals immediately got back on the board in the bottom of the second inning. After Paige hit his second triple in as many games, Brayden Jobert hit a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 5-0 Cardinals which would prove to be the final score.

Palm Beach starting pitcher Darlin Saladin (W, 2-0) pitched five shutout innings and allowed just one walk and three hits while earning eight strikeouts. Zack Showalter relieved Saladin with two shutout innings of his own to complete the sixth shutout of the season. Sammy Hernandez went 2-for-6 offensively in game one with three RBIs, including the game-winning RBI in the 11th inning. Paige finished the entire day 4-for-9 at the plate with two triples, an RBI, and three runs scored. Villarroel finished 3-for-8 at the plate with a double, RBI, two steals, and three runs scored.

The series continues with game three on Thursday, May 30th with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and come join us for Golf Night presented by Drive Shack. The Cardinals will wear specialty jerseys with proceeds to benefit First Tee Palm Beaches. Click here to purchase your tickets. Click here to become a member of the Thirsty Thursday program at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

About Jupiter Stadium, LTD:

Opening in 1998, the 110-acre complex/stadium is specially designed to house two Major League and two Minor League Baseball Teams. The stadium is home to the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals for Spring Training. The Florida State League’s Jupiter Hammerheads (Class A Affiliate of the Miami Marlins) and Palm Beach Cardinals (Class A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) make their home at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium from April through September. This year-round facility can accommodate the smallest birthday party to the largest corporate outing, while never forgetting that each and every fan is our most important product.