Eight-run fifth sends Palm Beach to FSL Championship Series
JUPITER, Fla—The Palm Beach Cardinals blasted a tie game wide open with an eight-run fifth inning as the Daytona Tortugas were bounced from the Florida State League playoffs as they were routed 11-2 to bring the 2024 season to a close.
Palm Beach (2-0, 83-47) punched their ticket to the FSL Championship Series against the Lakeland Flying Tigers by sweeping Daytona (0-2, 64-64) out of the playoffs, bringing Daytona’s first playoff appearance since 2018 to an abrupt end.
Palm Beach threatened in the first as a pair of singles put two on with one out, but Daytona starter Nick Sando retired the next two to escape the jam. In the second, though, Joshua Baez jumped on Sando’s first pitch and blasted it over the wall in left-center to give Palm Beach a 1-0 lead.
On the other side, Daytona’s offense could not get untracked early on. Palm Beach started Chen-Wei Lin struck out the first four batters he faced and set down Daytona in order in each of the first three innings.
In the third, Sando ran into trouble once more. A leadoff walk and a Bryce Madron single put runners on the corners with no outs. After a comebacker moved Madron to second but did not score the run, Sando fanned two in a row with runners at second and third to end the inning.
Daytona finally threatened against Lin in the third. With one out, Peyton Stovall ripped a double to center, then went to third on Sammy Stafura’s single to left. However, Lin induced a shallow flyout, then ended the inning with his seventh strikeout, keeping it 1-0.
Palm Beach then added to the lead in the fourth. Baez led off with a single to center, then stole second before moving to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Josh Kross roped a double to left-center, scoring Baez to make it 2-0.
Daytona, though, broke through in the fifth. An error and walk set the table for Diego Omana, who pulled a two-run double down the left-field line that tied the game at two apiece, chasing Lin in the process.
However, Palm Beach roared back with a backbreaking bottom of the fifth. The Cardinals set 12 batters to the plate, rapped six hits, and were the beneficiaries of a walk, a hit batter, and three Daytona errors. When the dust settled, Palm Beach had plated eight runs in the inning and the Tortugas found themselves staring at a 10-2 deficit.
The deficit only grew in the sixth. Three singles began the inning for Palm Beach before Josh Kross lifted a sacrifice fly to center, pushing the lead to 11-2.
Daytona would plate a couple more runs. In the eighth, Stovall lined his second hit of the inning, then scored two batters later when Ariel Almonte crushed a two-run home run that landed 405 feet away in right, trimming the deficit to 11-4.
That was as close as Daytona would get, though, as Palm Beach added on in the bottom of the eighth as three singles began the inning to push across a final tally.
The Tortugas went down in order in the ninth as the Cardinals punched their ticket to the FSL Championship Series.
The Tortugas will open the 2025 season on April 4, 2025 against the St. Lucie Mets at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Season tickets for the tenth season of Tortugas baseball are already on sale at the Tortugas box office, which you can visit in-person Monday-Friday from 9-5, or by calling 386-257-3172.
