Palm Beach Eliminated From Playoff Contention With 6-1 Loss to Daytona Tuesday Night

JUPITER, FL – The Palm Beach Cardinals (28-32; 60-65) were officially eliminated from playoff contention as they fell to the Daytona Tortugas (34-26; 63-63) by a final score of 6-1 on Tuesday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The Daytona Tortugas secured the final playoff berth in the FSL East Division as the St. Lucie Mets already secured the first and second half division titles.

Daytona struck for a run in the top of the first inning. Kyle Henley led off the inning with an opposite-field single. Palm Beach starting pitcher Leonel Sequera (L, 5-10) then got two quick outs on a pair of ground balls, but that allowed Henley to advance to third base. Tyson Lewis drove him in with an RBI double down the left field line to give the Tortugas a 1-0 lead.

After the Cardinals were retired in order on just six pitches by Daytona starting pitcher Cole Schoenwetter in the bottom of the first inning, the Tortugas threatened again on offense in the top of the second inning. Sequera walked Mason Neville and hit Bernard Moon with a pitch to start the inning. An unsuccessful sacrifice bunt and back-to-back strikeouts helped Sequera leave the inning unscathed.

Palm Beach got their bats going in the bottom of the second inning. Jose Suarez walked to start the inning. With two outs in the inning, Trevor Haskins drove an RBI double to the right center field gap, his first professional hit and RBI, to tie the game at 1-1 after two innings.

After both teams were scoreless in the third and fourth innings, the Tortugas got back on the board in in the top of the fifth. Henley led off with an infield single, stole second base, and advanced to third base on a throwing error. With one out, Alfredo Duno hit a sacrifice fly to score Henley to give the Tortugas a 2-1 lead. Daytona added another run in the sixth inning on a ground-rule, RBI double off the bat of Drew Davies to make it a 3-1 Daytona lead.

Sequera finished his final start of the regular season with 5 2/3 innings pitched, three earned runs, two walks, two hit batters, and seven strikeouts. Sequera finishes the regular season at 99 strikeouts over a league-leading 108 innings pitched across 24 starts.

After a scoreless seventh inning, the Tortugas got some separation in the top of the eighth inning. After Drew Davies reached on a walk, Kien Vu and Duno blasted back-to-back home runs with two outs off Palm Beach relief pitcher Anthony Watts to extend Daytona’s lead to 6-1. After that, the Cardinals could not score another run as the playoff hopes came to an end in the series opener on Tuesday night. Palm Beach finished with just two hits in the contest.

The Cardinals and Tortugas take part in the final “Silver Sluggers” night of the season at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Wednesday, September 3^rd with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Palm Beach Cardinals broadcast coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on the MiLB App, MiLB.TV, Bally Sports Live, and the Cardinals Audio Stream. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Click here to purchase your tickets.

About Jupiter Stadium, LTD:

Opening in 1998, the 110-acre complex/stadium is specially designed to house two Major League and two Minor League Baseball Teams. The stadium is home to the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals for Spring Training. The Florida State League’s Jupiter Hammerheads (Class A Affiliate of the Miami Marlins) and Palm Beach Cardinals (Class A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) make their home at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium from April through September. This year-round facility can accommodate the smallest birthday party to the largest corporate outing, while never forgetting that each and every fan is our most important product.