Tortugas Split Thursday Night Doubleheader at The Jack

DAYTONA BEACH—Jared Lyons pitched the Daytona Tortugas to a 2-1 game one victory, before the Dunedin Blue Jays claimed a 6-4, eight-inning win in the nightcap as the two squads split a Thursday doubleheader at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona (23-31, 52-67) was able to snap their four-game skid in game one, but Dunedin (27-29, 59-63) rallied back to deny the Tortugas of their third doubleheader sweep.

In the first inning of game one, the Tortugas jumped in front against Dunedin starter Davis Feldman. Jackson Miller led off with a double off the wall in deep left-center, then, was balked to third, then after a walk, came home on a Johnny Ascanio single. Cam Collier followed by bouncing into a fielder’s choice, but the throw to first skipped away, allowing Ethan O’Donnell to come home with a second run, putting Daytona ahead 2-0.

Lyons started off his afternoon with a pair of scoreless innings, but ran into trouble in the third. Nick Goodwin led off by lifting a 1-2 offering from Lyons over the right field fence for a solo home run. Lyons then allowed a single, but ended the inning by starting a 1-4-3 twin killing.

Lyons then worked around a two-out double and walk in a scoreless fourth before ending his outing with a scoreless fifth punctuated by a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play to end the inning and with it, his outing.

Lyons (3-4) exited after 5.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits and four walks while striking out five, leaving with a 2-1 lead.

Arij Fransen came on in the sixth and quickly retired the first two men he faced. However, two walks followed, but a groundout ended the inning to keep the one-run lead.

Fransen returned for the seventh, but issued a leadoff double, followed by a one-out walk. With runners at first and second and one down, Brody Jessee entered and quickly slammed the door, picking up a strikeout and flyout to end the game, nailing down a 2-1 win.

In game two, it was Dunedin who started things off with a first-inning rally against Daytona starter Gabriel Aguilera. A leadoff walk followed by an error put runners on the corners with no outs. A double play brought in a run but also cleared the bases. However, a single was followed by a triple form Goodwin to bring in a second run, staking Dunedin to a quick 2-0 lead.

The Tortugas, though, had a quick answer against Yondrei Rojas in the bottom half. Johnny Ascanio led off with a walk and stole second. After another walk, O’Donnell ripped an RBI single up the middle to slice the lead in half.

In the second, Dunedin loaded the bases with one out, but an unassisted double play turned by Victor Acosta ended that threat. Aguilera wasn’t as lucky in the third, though, as Jace Bohrofen led off the inning by blasting a 457-foot home run to right field, restoring the two-run advantage to make it 3-1, Blue Jays.

In the fourth, though, the bats came back to life as O’Donnell led off with a double and came home two batters later when Allan Cerda connected for his first home run in Daytona this year, a two-run shot on the roof of the batting cages in left field. The game was now tied 3-3.

After Aguilera walked the first two batters in the fifth, Frainger Aranguren entered and recorded the first out, but a bloop double gave Dunedin the lead back at 4-3. However, Aranguren buckled down and stranded two more runners to end the inning.

Daytona, meanwhile, chased Rojas by loading the bases with one out. Chay Yeager came on and induced a ground ball from Acosta, but he beat out the back end of the potential double play, scoring a run to even the score once more.

Both teams failed to score in the sixth or seventh, with Connor O’Halloran sending the game to extras by stranding two Tortugas on base in the seventh.

In the top of the eighth, the Blue Jays got to Aranguren as a walk and deep flyout moved two runners into scoring position. A single by Jackson Hornung then brought home the automatic runner. Jaden Rudd followed with another hit to bring in a second run, putting Dunedin ahead 6-4.

In the bottom of the eighth, Daytona failed to score against O’Halloran. Though they did put the tying run on base with a two-out walk, a flyout to left with two men aboard ended the game, as Dunedin earned the split with a 6-4 victory.

Daytona will play game three against the Dunedin Blue Jays on Friday night, with RHP Mason Pelio (2-7, 5.12) opposing Dunedin RHP Lazaro Estrada (1-2, 2.69). Tomorrow will be our final Fireworks Friday, in addition to Margaritaville Night, with the first 1,000 fans receiving a voucher for a lime green Tortugas Hawaiian shirt. First pitch will be at 6:35 p.m. with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. Pregame coverage from Jackie Robinson Ballpark with the voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, will begin at 6:20 p.m. on the Tortugas Radio Network.

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.