FSL1 Palm Beach Cardinals

Tilson, Caldwell each drive in three runs to pace Palm Beach offense

Published on July 2, 2014 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Palm Beach Cardinals News Release


Jupiter, FL - Charlie Tilson, Bruce Caldwell and Cesar Valera all had big nights at the plate to help the Palm Beach Cardinals take care of the Jupiter Hammerheads 7-3 on Wednesday night at Roger Dean Stadium.

The Cardinals (10-4, 46-37) have won five straight games against the Hammerheads (2-11, 29-53) and lead the 2014 Fins vs. Feathers Series 6-4.

Caldwell and Tilson each notched two hits and drove in three runs while Valera went 4-for-4 with three runs scored.

Ryan Goetz lifted an RBI single into left field in the second to put Jupiter on top 1-0 but Palm Beach was quick to respond.

Valera blooped a single into right and Dante Rosenberg took first base after getting hit by a Brad Penny pitch to put runners on first and second for Tilson in the third. Tilson laid down a perfect bunt to advance the runners 90 feet and Ildemaro Vargas drove in the first run of the game for the Cards on an infield single. Vargas hit a chopper up the middle and beat the throw for the RBI base hit.

Caldwell followed with a triple deep off the wall in straightaway center to clear the bases and give the Cardinals a 3-1 advantage. Caldwell was thrown out at home after the ball got away from Colin Moran at third when Caldwell slid in for the three-base hit.

Caldwell helped the Cardinals extend their lead with another big hit in the top half of the fifth. Valera and Tilson each singled to set up Caldwell's third RBI of the night - a line drive single into center to plate Valera and push the lead to 4-1.

Caldwell has a team-leading six, three-RBI games this season and has racked up 26 RBI overall since joining Palm Beach on April 29.

Jimmy Reed turned in his second straight quality start in as many games for Palm Beach and cruised through six innings. A two-run double off the bat of Viosergy Rosa in the seventh inning chased Reed from the game in favor of Dixon Llorens with two outs. Overall, Reed (2-0) surrendered three runs on 11 hits over 6.2 innings and fanned five en route to his second winning decision for Palm Beach.

Rosa's double brought Jupiter back to within one run at 4-3, but Tilson quickly erased any glimmer of hope with a three-run triple in the eighth. Mason Katz walked, Valera slapped a single up the middle and Rosenberg was hit by pitch to load the bases. Tilson cleared them on a three-bagger to the right field corner to pad the Birds' lead to 7-3.

Rosenberg was hit by a pitch three times in the game tying a Florida State League single-game record. Curtis Granderson was the last to get pegged by a pitch three times in a game - playing for Lakeland on June 16, 2003.

After relieving Reed in the seventh, Llorens needed just one pitch to get out of the inning, forcing Matt Juengel to hit a soft grounder back to the mound. Llorens finished the game on the mound, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings to pick up his eighth save of the year.

A two-time MLB All-Star, Penny (0-1) pitched well in his first professional start since 2012 but took the loss for the Hammerheads. He allowed four runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings, walked none and struck out two in the rehab start.

The two teams will play the final game of the three-game series on Thursday night. LH Kyle Helisek (4-3, 3.22) will start for Palm Beach against RH Trevor Williams (6-5, 2.38) for Jupiter. The game will have a special 6:05 p.m. start time due to Mega Bash - Roger Dean Stadium's huge Fourth of July celebration. There will be live music, a mega kids' area, special promotions, fireworks and much more.

Check out the Palm Beach Cardinals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Florida State League Stories from July 2, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central