FSL Clearwater Threshers

Fourth-Straight Walkoff, Second-Straight Sweep

May 7, 2023 - Florida State League (FSL)
Clearwater Threshers News Release


CLEARWATER, FL - Cade Fergus' career-high third hit of the game drove in the winning run in the ninth for the Clearwater Threshers (21-6) in an 8-7 walkoff win over the Lakeland Flying Tigers (11-16) on Sunday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark. The Threshers take their thirteen-game win streak to Dunedin on Tuesday to begin a six-game set against the Blue Jays.

Ricardo Rosario sent the second pitch of the game from Carlos Marcano back up the middle with a leadoff single. He stole second and third before scoring on a one-out single by Jordan Dissin that gave the Threshers a 1-0 lead in the first.

Lakeland tied it up in the third inning, with a two-out single by Dominic Johnson evening the score up at one apiece. Manuel Sequeras's solo homer in the fourth gave the Flying Tigers a 2-1 lead.

Otto Kemp was hit by a pitch to lead off the home half of the fourth and advanced to second on a single by Freylin Minyety. Fergus sent a double down the left field line to plate both runners and give the Threshers a 3-2 lead. Erick Brito followed Fergus with a single to center, and when Lakeland's centerfielder, Seth Stephenson, bobbled the ground ball base hit, Fergus scored from third to extend the lead to 4-2.

Dissin was hit by a pitch by Marcano, who was then replaced by Cam Brown with two outs in the fourth inning. After walking Jordan Viars, Felix Reyes sent the first pitch he saw back up the middle to score two and give the Threshers a 6-2 lead. Lakeland drew five walks in the seventh, and a two-run single by Alvaro Gonzalez put the Flying Tigers back in front at 7-6.

Viars led off the ninth inning with a single to left off Lakeland reliever Max Alba and was replaced by pinch-runner Emaarion Boyd. He immediately stole second base and advanced to third on a double by Reyes. Bryan Rincon pinch-ran for Reyes and Kemp walked to load the bases. Minyety tied the game up on a sacrifice fly that scored Boyd from third. The very next pitch was sent into deep centerfield by Fergus, scoring Rincon from second and giving the Threshers a fourth-straight walkoff win in an 8-7 victory to seal the sweep.

Estibenzon Jiménez tossed 4.0 innings with two runs allowed on three hits and two strikeouts in a no-decision. Andrew Bellatti struck out two with one walk and one hit allowed in 1.0 scoreless frame. Eduar Segovia allowed one hit and walked one with two strikeouts in 1.0 scoreless inning. Danny Wilkinson didn't record an out, with five runs allowed on three walks and one hit. Andrew Walling took a blown save in 1.0 inning of work, allowing one hit and two walks with two strikeouts. Wesley Moore (2-0) took the win in 2.0 shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

The Threshers won their fourth-straight game on a walkoff... Fergus set a season-high with three RBIs and a career-high with three hits... Reyes drove in his first two runs of the season in the fourth... His ninth-inning double was his first extra-base hit of the year... Dissin has driven in a run in each of the last three games... Rosario stole two bases in a game for the second time this season... After an off day on Monday, the Threshers travel to Dunedin to face the Blue Jays (Single-A, Toronto Blue Jays) on Tuesday, May 9th ... First pitch is at 6:05 PM on Tuesday evening... You can purchase tickets for the Threshers season at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457.

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