Tortugas Suffer Third Walk-off Loss of Series to End Road Trip
FT. MYERS, FL—For the third time this week, the Daytona Tortugas suffered a tenth-inning walk-off loss at the hands of the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels as Ft. Myers took a 6-4 victory in ten innings on Sunday afternoon at Hammond Stadium. Ft. Myers (27-27, 61-59) took five of six in
FT. MYERS, FL—For the third time this week, the Daytona Tortugas suffered a tenth-inning walk-off loss at the hands of the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels as Ft. Myers took a 6-4 victory in ten innings on Sunday afternoon at Hammond Stadium.
Ft. Myers (27-27, 61-59) took five of six in the series, as Daytona (22-30, 51-66) suffered their third walk-off loss in four games, while also falling four games behind Jupiter in the East Division playoff race.
In the bottom of the first, Ft. Myers took the lead against Daytona starter Johnathan Harmon. Walker Jenkins singled with one out, went to third on a two-out hit, and came home on a Rubel Cespedes single.
Daytona, though, answered right back against Ft. Myers starter Juan Mercedes. Ethan O’Donnell led off with a triple off the left field wall and immediately came home on a Yassel Pino double to left-center. After a lineout to center moved Pino to third, followed by a walk, Yerlin Confidan came up. Confidan hit a slow dribbler up the third base line that was allowed to roll, which not only stayed fair, but rolled into shallow left for an RBI double, staking Daytona to a 2-1 lead.
An inning later, the Tortugas added another tally. Johnny Ascanio led off with a single, then came all the way home as Cam Collier blasted a double to the right-field fence to extend the lead. Collier then went to third on a wild pitch, and appeared to score on a sacrifice fly from Pino. However, an appeal at third base saw Collier called out for leaving early, wiping away the run and ending the inning with Daytona ahead 3-1.
With the lead, Harmon settled in, firing a 1-2-3 second and brushing off a leadoff single in the third with a double play. He then followed with a spotless fourth, retiring 9 of the last 10 batters he faced in a 4.0-inning outing.
Daytona loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fifth, but failed to add to the lead before Cody Adcock entered in the bottom of the fifth and allowed a leadoff single, but sat down the next three in a scoreless frame.
He returned for the sixth and quickly recorded two outs, but issued a four-pitch walk, then surrendered a two-run homer to Cespedes, whose 389-foot drive to left-center tied the game at three apiece.
From there, neither team mounted too serious of a scoring threat in the remainder of regulation. Daytona had two runners in the eighth, but a double play muted the threat. Likewise, Brody Jessee worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh with a twin killing, while also navigating a leadoff single in the eighth and a two-out double in the ninth, sending the game to extras for the third time this week.
In the tenth, Ascanio moved automatic runner Dominic Pitelli to third with a bunt, while also reaching on an error. After a pitching change, Collier jumped on the first pitch from Ricardo Velez and blasted a fly ball that Jenkins ran down in deep center, but was plenty deep to score Pitelli to put Daytona ahead 4-3.
In the bottom of the tenth. Frainger Aranguren came on to try to get the final three outs, but Ft. Myers instead rallied. Jenkins led off and singled home automatic runner Luke Keaschall to tie the game. On the very next pitch, Ricardo Olivar blasted a no-doubt, two-run walk-off homer to left, winning the game for Ft. Myers 6-4.
Daytona will have Monday off before returning home to begin the final homestand of the 2023 regular season on Tuesday against the Dunedin Blue Jays. It will be our final Silver Sluggers Tuesday and Breast Cancer Awareness Night. 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.