Daytona suffers sweep in first leg of road trip
FORT MYERS, Fla—Sammy Stafura stroked a pair of doubles, but the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels scored eight runs in the bottom of the second inning and the Daytona Tortugas never recovered as Fort Myers secured a series sweep by cruising to a 9-3 win on Sunday afternoon at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Fort Myers (12-12, 39-49) earned a three-game sweep as Daytona (12-10, 41-47) was on the wrong end of their worst single inning since 2023, while also walking 13 batters in the setback.
After a scoreless first, Fort Myers erupted to quickly put the Tortugas in the rear-view mirror. Two walks and a single loaded the bases before Jose Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded walk forced in the first run. A fielder’s choice brought in a second run. Dameury Pena then singled in a run, Rayne Doncon doubled in the fourth and fifth runs, before three straight walks forced in a sixth tally. Peyton Carr then lined a two-run single to center, bringing the final two runs of an eight-run frame.
Fort Myers sent 13 men to the plate in the eight-run inning, stroking four hits while also drawing six walks and forcing Daytona pitching to throw 52 pitches in the inning.
Now down 8-0, the Daytona offense was dormant in the first five innings, recording just one hit and failing to score. In the meantime, Ovis Portes came out of the bullpen for the Tortugas to begin the third and threw three scoreless innings to hold the score.
In the sixth, the Tortugas finally broke through. Kyle Henley and Ryan McCrystal both singled to begin the inning and a walk loaded the base with no outs. Esmith Pineda then lifted a sacrifice fly to drive in Henley. Stafura then lined his second double, scoring McCrystal. Bernard Moon followed with a sacrifice fly to bring in a third run, closing the gap to 8-3.
Portes, though, faltered somewhat in his fourth inning of work. He allowed two hits and a walk in the sixth, with an RBI single from Yohander Martinez adding a run for Fort Myers, who now led 9-3.
Bryce Hubbart got the final out in the sixth for Portes, then threw scoreless seventh and eighth innings, including working out of bases-loaded jam in the eighth, as he worked 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Daytona, though, did not draw any closer, as Fort Myers cruised to the finish line by a 9-3 margin.
Daytona will have Monday off before continuing the trip with the opener of a four-game series in Port St. Lucie against the St. Lucie Mets on Tuesday evening. First pitch from Clover Park will be at 6:10 p.m. on Tuesday while pregame coverage with the Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, will begin on the Tortugas Radio Network at 6:10 p.m.
Tickets for every Tortugas home game are available on our website, by calling 386-257-3172, or by visiting the Jackie Robinson Ballpark box office at 110 E. Orange Avenue.
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.
