
5.22.21 Game Notes: Tampa Tarpons (12-4) vs. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
May 22, 2021 - Florida State League (FSL)
Tampa Tarpons News Release
FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS (7-9) vs. TAMPA TARPONS (12-4)
RHP Louie Varland (2-0, 2.16) vs. RHP Sean Boyle (2-1, 0.84)
Saturday - George M. Steinbrenner Field - Tampa, FL - 6:30 p.m.
Game #17 - Home Game #11 - Radio: N/A - Phone App: MiLB First Pitch
LAST TIME OUT: The Tarpons rose from an early 5-0 deficit and took a 7-5 lead into the 9th before the Mighty Mussels tied the score, but Pat DeMarco delivered a walk-off, two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th to win the game for Tampa, 9-7, Friday night at GMS Field...LHP Edgar Barclay (2.1IP, 2H, 2ER, 3BB, 1K, HB, 50P/27S) made his first-career start...LHP Ryan Anderson tallied 4Ks in 2.1IP (3H, 3ER, 3BB, 2HB, 62P/33S) in relief...Austin Wells (2-for-5, 2B, 3RBI, R) and Trevor Hauver (1-for-5, 2B, 2RBI) it back-to-back 2-run doubles in the 3rd, cutting the deficit to 5-4...Pedro Diaz (1-for-3, BB, RBI, R) and Wells each hit RBI singles in the 6th to put the Tarpons in front, 6-5...Jake Sanford (1-for-4, HR, HBP, RBI, R) bashed a leadoff HR in the 7th for a 7-5 lead...RHP Kevin Milam logged a scoreless 2.2IP (3H, 0BB, 4K) in relief...Fort Myers rallied to tie the score off RHP Carson Coleman (W, 1-0)(BS, 1)(1.2IP, 3H, 2ER, 1BB, 2K) in the 9th before DeMarco's heroic swing in the home-half.
CLUB 150: Nine more runs on Thursday has put the Tarpons season run total at 150 runs scored. No other team in the Southeast League has scored more than 93 (St. Lucie). Tampa's offense is scoring (on average) more than nine runs-per-game. Anthony Volpe (18R) currently leads the league in runs scored, with Trevor Hauver (16R) and Austin Wells (16R) tied for 2nd, Andres Chaparro (15R) ranked 5th, Pat DeMarco (14R) 6th and Elijah Dunham (13R) 7th.
YOU SHALL NOT PASS: On Tuesday, RHP Sean Boyle (tonight's starting pitcher) tallied 3Ks while not issuing a walk over 3.2IP. Going back to 2019 while pitching for Rookie-level Pulaski and Short-A Staten Island, Boyle has now tallied 23Ks since last allowing a free pass. To put that into perspective, RHP Gerrit Cole set the modern-day MLB record for most strikeouts between walks on Monday, when he tallied his 61st K before allowing a walk later in his start.
VS. FORT MYERS: Tonight, the Tarpons will continue a six-game series against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. The Tarpons currently lead the season-series, 3-1. The teams are scheduled to square off a total of 12 times throughout the season. In 2019, Tampa finished 4-5 vs. Fort Myers, going 1-3 as the home team.
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Tarpons enter today leading the Southeast League in several categories, including runs (150), hits (147), RBI (143), doubles (45), home runs (19) walks (109), AVG (.259), OBP (.383) and SLG (.456). The Tarpons have five players ranked among the top-six RBI leaders in the league, including: Pat DeMarco (1st, 21RBI), Trevor Hauver (2nd, 20RBI), Austin Wells (3rd, 18RBI), Andres Chaparro (5th, 16RBI) and Anthony Volpe (6th, 14RBI).
GOING STREAKING: In his first at-bat of the night, Chad Bell lashed a double down the left field line to keep his on-base streak alive on Friday. Bell has reached base in all 15 games in which he's played this season. Meanwhile, RHP Nelvin Correa logged a scoreless 3.0IP on Thursday night, extending his scoreless innings streak to 12.2IP to begin his season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: The Tarpons collected four more doubles on Friday night, giving them a league-best 45 doubles. Andres Chaparro has doubled in four-straight games, and currently leads the Southeast League with nine doubles. The 22-year-old is batting .309/.406/.527 (17-for-55) w/ 16 RBI in 14 games.
SMOOTH CRIMINALS: On Thursday night, Anthony Volpe swiped three bags to bring his season total up to a team-high 9SBs Pat DeMarco also stole a pair of bags, and Andres Chaparro collected one of his own for a total of six on the night by the Tarpons. Entering tonight, Tampa ranks third in the Southeast League with 29 stolen bases, and rank first with the fewest caught-stealings at 2CS for a league-best 94% success rate.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Last week, Tarpons INF Trevor Hauver was named the Southeast League's Player of the Week (5/4 to 5/9). During that week, Hauver batted .556 (10-for-18) w/ 2B, 6HR, 13RBI, 7BB and 9R in five games.
1ST ROUND PICKS HIGHLIGHT OPENING DAY ROSTER: Among the players listed on the opening day roster for Low-A Tampa are catcher Austin Wells and shortstop Anthony Volpe. Wells was drafted in the first round (28th overall) by the Yankees in the 2020 draft and is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in the Yankees organization. In 2019, Volpe was selected in the first round (30th overall) by the Yankees, and enters 2021 ranked by Baseball America at No. 17 among Yankees prospects.
Florida State League Stories from May 22, 2021
- Proctor, Four Others Combine to No-Hit Jupiter, 1-0 - Daytona Tortugas
- Pitchers Dominate as Offense Shines Again in 13-0 Triumph - Tampa Tarpons
- Cardinals Stun Mets with 6-5 Walk-Off Win - St. Lucie Mets
- Rojas Robs Two Bases in Threshers 5-3 Win - Clearwater Threshers
- Back-And-Forth Battle Ends in Bradenton Win - Bradenton Marauders
- 5.22.21 Game Notes: Tampa Tarpons (12-4) vs. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - Tampa Tarpons
- Pitching Struggles, Offense Stagnant in Marauders Loss - Bradenton Marauders
- Jupiter Rallies in the Ninth Inning for Win - Jupiter Hammerheads
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