Tortugas Ride Relievers, Lakeland Miscues to 6-3 Victory

DAYTONA BEACH—Easton Sikorski spun 3.1 scoreless frames in relief and the Daytona Tortugas took advantage of a pair of costly errors to earn a 6-3 victory over the Lakeland Flying Tigers and Mother Nature on a very windy Friday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona (18-24) rode a pair of excellent relief outings totalling 5.1 innings of one-hit ball to hold down the Lakeland (18-24) offense, while the Flying Tigers allowed four of the six Tortuga tallies to come home unearned.

Lakeland got started right away as Seth Stephenson led off the game by slicing a leadoff triple down the right field line. On the very next pitch, a shallow fly to right was just enough for Peyton Graham to bring home the first run of the game.

Daytona did nothing in the first two frames, but that changed in the third inning against Marco Jimenez. Cade Hunter led off with a single and stole second before coming home on a wild pitch. With two outs, an error extended the inning and Daytona took full advantage. After a Carlos Jorge single and a wild pitch, Sal Stewart singled home both runners. He then raced all the way home when Cam Collier doubled over the head of left fielder Carlos Pelegrin, putting Daytona ahead 4-1 with the four-run frame, three of which were unearned.

However, Lakeland answered back against Pelio. After a strikeout, a double and a walk put two on with one out. A ground ball to first followed. A throw to second was attempted, but mishandled for an error, loading the bases with one out. Dominic Johnson followed with a bases-loaded walk and a groundout brought home another run, closing the gap to 4-3.

At that point, Pelio was lifted for Sikorski, who entered with runners at second and third. However, he induced a ground ball to short to end the inning, stranding the runners and preserving the lead.

Sikorski settled in from there, throwing a 1-2-3 fourth and brushing aside a two-out single in the fifth before firing a 1-2-3 sixth. He returned for the seventh and worked around a one-out walk, finishing off a 3.1-inning effort with one hit, one walk, and one strikeout without allowing a run.

On the other side, Daytona loaded the bases against Lakeland left Joe Miller in the fifth, but failed to push anything across. Two innings later, though, they got to Miller to put the game out of reach.

Hector Rodriguez led off with an infield single, stole second, and moved to third when Jorge reached on a dropped third strike. After a strikeout, Collier lifted a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Rodriguez. Yerlin Confidan followed with a sharp ground ball that eluded Abel Bastidas for an error, scoring Jorge to make it 6-3, Daytona.

Zach Maxwell then came on and was sharp from the start, setting down Lakeland six-up, six-down with three strikeouts, including the final two batters of the game to earn his first save in a 6-3 win.

The Tortugas play game five against the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Saturday night. RHP Tanner Cooper (1-2, 3.68) will get the ball for Daytona against Lakeland LHP Mason Green (0-0, 9.00). Tomorrow is our first fan-selected bobblehead, with the first 1,000 fans receiving a Tyler Stephenson Tortugas bobblehead. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. Pregame on the Tortugas Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense at 6:20 from Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona Tortugas single-game tickets and ticket packages are on sale now at daytonatortugas.com, (386) 257-3172, or the box office at 110 East Orange Ave.

ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS

The Daytona Tortugas are the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in downtown Daytona Beach, Fla. Jackie Robinson Ballpark also plays host to Bethune-Cookman University, the Jackie Robinson Ballpark Museum, and many community events and initiatives of all sizes throughout the year.