Rumberos Rolled in 10-1 Defeat Thursday Night

DAYTONA BEACH—The fiesta was over quickly as the Rumberos de Daytona fell behind early and the Tampa Tarpons cruised to a 10-1 victory on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

In the final Copa de la Diversion of the season, Tampa (23-22, 53-57) ruined the party with a five-run fourth that distanced themselves from Daytona (19-24, 48-60), who walked 11 batters—the second straight night with double-digit free passes.

After a pair of scoreless innings, Tampa broke the seal in the top of the third against Daytona starter Gabriel Aguilera. After a leadoff walk, Jose Colmenares blasted a two-run homer to right-center to stake Tampa to a 2-0 lead.

An inning later, Tampa effectively put the game away with a big inning. A leadoff walk was followed by a Cole Gabrielson RBI triple. After a walk, Beau Brewer rolled a hit-and-run single to right, scoring another run. Aguilera was then lifted for Alex Johnson, but the rally continued. After a walk loaded the bases, Roc Riggio took a bases-loaded walk to force in a run.

The next batter, Josh Moylan lifted a fly ball to left that scored Brewer. However, a controversial safe call at third base on the play led to the ejection of Daytona manager Julio Morillo. A groundout then followed to bring in another run, bringing in the final run of a five-run frame that extended the Tarpons’ lead to 7-0.

On the other side, Daytona did little against Tampa starter Hayden Merda. After leaving runners on the corners in the first, Merda retired the next eight batters before allowing a walk and single with two outs in the fourth. However, the right-hander got out of the inning unscathed.

In the fifth, Daytona again mounted a two-out threat against Merda as two walks were sandwiched around an infield hit. Merda then was lifted for Montana Semmel, who proceeded to pick up a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Tampa proceeded to then extend the lead further over the sixth and seventh frames. Against Joseph Menefee, a two-out double from Garrett Martin brought in a run in the sixth, while a wild pitch with the bases loaded plated another in the seventh, making it 9-0, Tarpons.

After Brody Jessee struck out the side in the eighth, Daytona finally got on the board in the eighth. With one out, Cam Collier reached on an infield single, with an infield single moving to second. Johnny Ascanio followed with a bloop single to center than plated Collier, putting a run on the board for the Rumberos.

Tampa tacked on one more run in the top of the ninth before Luis Arejula finished off the ballgame with a scoreless ninth, bringing home a 10-1 win for Tampa.

Daytona will play game four against the Tampa Tarpons on Friday night. Daytona will throw RHP Mason Pelio (2-6, 4.81) against Tampa RHP Sean Hermann (5-6, 5.64). Tomorrow will be the our final The Nine Night to celebrate Jackie Robinson and other pioneers of black baseball. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. with the first pitch at 6:35 p.m. with pregame coverage with the voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, beginning 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.