Daytona’s final lap at The Jack in ’25 a dud in 6-1 setback
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—The Daytona Tortugas were held to just one hit as the Lakeland Flying Tigers moved one win away from a Florida State League championship by defeating Daytona 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
Lakeland (1-0) used a pair of two-run triples and scored five of their six runs with two outs, while Daytona (0-1) was overwhelmed offensively, suffering season lows in hits (one) and baserunners (two) at the worst possible time.
Lakeland threatened in the top of the first as a walk began the ballgame, then Chris Meyers singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Daytona starter Sheng-En Lin, though, induced a 5-4-3 double play.
After Lin threw a 1-2-3 second, though, Lakeland drew first blood in the third. Juan Hernandez drew a one-out walk, then came all the way home on a double down the third-base line from Nick Dumesnil to give the Flying Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Lin bounced back with another 1-2-3 inning, finishing his day with 4.0 innings of one-run ball on two hits, while walking two without striking out a batter.
After Lin departed, Lakeland extended the lead in the fifth. Samuel Gil singled with one out, then a two-out walk put two on for Jesus Pinto, who sliced a two-run triple into the right-field corner. Meyers followed with an RBI single up the middle, putting the Flying Tigers ahead 4-0.
The Daytona offense had absolutely zero answers for Lakeland starter Kelvis Salcedo. In the first five innings, Salcedo retired the first 15 batters he faced, as Daytona did not hit a ball out of the infield in that span, let alone record a hit.
In the sixth, though, the Tortugas finally found some life offensively. Bernard Moon was nicked by a pitch to open the inning, then Ichiro Cano singled to right-center for Daytona’s first hit, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Alfredo Alcantara followed with a sacrifice fly to score Moon, trimming the gap to 4-1.
However, the Tortugas drew no closer. In the eighth, Lakeland put more distance between themselves and Daytona, as Samuel Gil lined a two-out, two-run triple down the right-field line, stretching the lead to 6-1.
Daytona’s offense went down quietly, as the last 12 Tortugas went down in order, with seven of the last nine going down on strikes, as the Tortugas were silenced 6-1 to put their season on the brink.
The Tortugas will have Monday off before continuing the series at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Game 2 of the series against the Lakeland Flying Tigers. First pitch on Tuesday will be at 6:30 p.m. with pregame coverage on the Tortuga Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense beginning at 6:20.
ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS
The Daytona Tortugas are in their tenth season as the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida that was recently designated a National Commemorative Site. 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.
