
Cardinals Fall Short of Comeback in 7-6 Loss to Flying Tigers
April 17, 2024 - Florida State League (FSL)
Palm Beach Cardinals News Release
The Palm Beach Cardinals (7-4) fell just short of a comeback in the later innings as they fell to the Lakeland Flying Tigers (8-3) by a final score of 7-6 on Wednesday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Lakeland got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second inning. Jim Jarvis led off with a single and one batter later Eduardo Valencia drove him in on an RBI single. Three batters later, Max Clark notched an RBI single of his own to make it 2-0 Lakeland. The Flying Tigers added two more in the top of the third inning thanks to a wild pitch and a balk to extend their lead to 4-0. Three innings later in the top of the sixth, Clark added another RBI on a groundout to make it 5-0 Lakeland.
It wasn't until the bottom of the seventh inning that Palm Beach would get their first run. Lizandro Espinoza hit a triple with one out in his first at-bat of the night and came in to score on a wild pitch. Trey Paige would walk with two outs and Adari Grant drove him in on an RBI single to make it 5-2.
However, Lakeland would get the runs back with a two-RBI single by Clark in the top of the seventh inning to extend the lead to 7-2. Clark finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
The Cardinals made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth inning. Kade Kretzschmar was hit by a pitch and Ross Friedrick singled to begin the frame. Kretzschmar would come in to score on a throwing error and Miguel Villarroel immediately drove in Friedrick on an RBI single. Espinoza followed up with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5. Four batters later with a runner at third base, Sammy Hernandez capped the inning with an RBI single to put the deficit at 7-6.
However, the Cardinals comeback fell just one run short as the Flying Tigers held on for the 7-6 victory to tie the series at one game a piece. Ixan Henderson (L, 0-1) suffered the loss in his first career start for Palm Beach with three innings pitched, four earned runs, eight hits, one walk and six strikeouts.
Paige went 2-for-2 with two walks and a run scored at the plate. Sammy Hernandez also finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a hit-by-pitch.
The Cardinals continue their series against the Flying Tigers on Thursday, April 18th with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Join us at the ballpark for Thirsty Thursday. Click here to become a member of the Thirsty Thursday program and click here to purchase your tickets.
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Florida State League Stories from April 17, 2024
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