Balanced offensive attack leads the way as magic number is trimmed to three
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—Peyton Stovall had two hits, two steals, and an RBI, while Yerlin Confidan and Esmith Pineda drove in two runs apiece as the Daytona Tortugas kicked off the final series of the regular season with a 7-2 victory over the Bradenton Marauders.
Daytona (31-27, 62-62) stole a season-high six bases and led from the second inning on as they put away Bradenton (23-38, 52-75) on a night where the Tortugas trimmed their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to three and also welcomed their one-millionth fan in franchise history.
After a scoreless first, Daytona took advantage of wildness from Marauders starter Zander Mueth to take the lead. Ricardo Cabrera was plunked with one out, then Jack Moss and Diego Omana both walked, loading the bases with two outs. Confidan then came through with a two-run single up the middle, putting Daytona in front 2-0.
Daytona starter Dualvert Gutierrez was sharp over the first three frames. The right-hander retired the first seven batters he faced before allowing a one-out single in the third. Gutierrez then retired the next two batters to end a solid start
In the bottom of the third, Daytona added to the lead. Sammy Stafura was plunked to begin the inning, then stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Ariel Almonte then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Stafura to push the lead to 3-0.
Kenya Huggins entered for the Tortugas in the fourth inning, but Bradenton got on the board. Will Taylor led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout, then came home on a sacrifice fly by Esmerlyn Valdez, trimming the margin to 3-1.
Huggins (1-0) followed with a scoreless fifth, working 2.0 innings of one-run ball that left him in line for his first victory since over a year off the mound due to injury.
Daytona then went to work putting the game away. In the fifth, Stovall led off with a double and went to third on an infield hit from Stafura. After Almonte walked to load the bases, Pineda rolled a base hit up the middle to score two runs. A couple batters later, Moss singled through the left side to push the lead to 6-1 after a three-run frame.
An inning later, Confidan reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and went to third on a wild throw, then scored on Stovall’s second hit of the night, a single to left, that made it 7-1, Daytona.
David Lorduy was next on the mound for Daytona and worked around a pair of baserunners in a scoreless sixth, only to allow a single and double to begin the seventh. A run scored on a groundout, but Lorduy limited the damage to just a single tally.
Lorduy threw a scoreless eighth to end a 3.0-inning outing of one-run ball, then handed things off to Luke Hayden in the ninth. The righty allowed a leadoff walk, but induced a 5-4-3 double play and a soft pop-up to end the game, as Daytona won 7-2.
The Tortugas will have Tuesday off, then play game two against the Bradenton Marauders on Wednesday night. Wednesday will be our final Belly Buster Wednesday of the year with all-you-can-eat hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, and Little Caesars Pizza. Plus, it will be College Night for Bethune-Cookman students with free pizza and beer (21+) in the Budweiser Bullpen for two hours for just $11 for all BCU students. Gates will open at 5:30 with first pitch to follow at 6:35 p.m. Pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network and MiLB.tv/Bally Live with the Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, will begin at 6:20 p.m.
