Threshers Become First Single-A Team to 60 Wins in Shutout Victory

WP: Jonathan Petit (1-1, 5.22)

LP: Leonardo Pestana (0-4, 4.87)

SV: Andrew Walling (5)

BOX SCORE:

CLEARWATER, FL – A four-run fifth inning and a second-straight shutout performance by the pitching staff earned the Clearwater Threshers (60-27, 16-6) their third-straight win and second-straight shutout in a 7-0 victory over the Tampa Tarpons (42-46, 11-11) on Friday night at BayCare Ballpark. The Threshers go for the series victory against the Tarpons on Saturday night.

With two outs in the first, Felix Reyes singled off Tarpons starter Leonardo Pestana. He moved to second on a walk to Bryan Rincon and scored on an RBI single by Otto Kemp that gave the Beach Dogs a 1-0 lead.

Kemp led off the fourth with a double off Tarpons reliever Ocean Gabonia. William Bergolla reached on an error that moved Kemp to third and Jordan Dissin walked to load the bases. Jordan Viars grounded out to first, but Kemp took off on contact and scored to bring the Beach Dogs’ lead to 2-0. Cade Fergus and Ricardo Rosario knocked in runs on back-to-back RBI singles to double the lead to 4-0. Fergus then scored on a wild pitch that extended the Beach Dogs' advantage to 5-0.

Clearwater knocked three one-out hits off Tarpons reliever Montana Semmel in the eighth, with Bergolla, Dissin, and Viars loading the bases with three-straight singles. Fergus drove in Bergolla with a sacrifice fly and Rosario followed with an RBI double to make it 7-0. The Tarpons managed a two-out walk in the ninth, but the Beach Dogs secured the final out shortly after to seal a 7-0 win.

Jonathan Petit (1-1) tossed 5.0 scoreless innings with two hits, two walks, and five strikeouts to earn the win. Seth Nightingale walked one in a scoreless sixth inning. Andrew Walling earned his fifth save of the season in 3.0 shutout innings with one hit allowed two walks and one strikeout.

Petit earned his first victory of the year...He tied his career-high with 5.0 innings pitched...Clearwater became the fourth team in professional baseball to reach 60 wins...Clearwater hasn’t allowed a run since the fifth inning on Wednesday afternoon...Walling earned his first nine-out save of his career...He is now tied for fourth in the league with five saves... Viars has reached base in five-straight games...Clearwater is now 3-1 when playing as the Beach Dogs... The Threshers continue their homestand against the Tampa Tarpons (Yankees, A) on Saturday, July 22nd... First pitch is at 6:30 pm EST... You can purchase tickets for Threshers games at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457.