Threshers Finish Series With Walkoff Winner

WP: Marty Gair (1-2, 4.56)

LP: Luis Ramirez (3-3, 2.48)

BOX SCORE

CLEARWATER, FL – Despite losing their lead in the eighth inning, the Clearwater Threshers (44-31, 4-5) scored in the eighth and ninth innings to walk off the Jupiter Hammerheads (41-34, 4-5) in a 5-4 win on Sunday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark. The Threshers continue their homestand when they begin a series against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels on Tuesday.

After a scoreless first inning, Jonathan Hogart led off the second with a solo home run to give the Threshers an early advantage. In the bottom of the third inning, Angel Mata began the frame by getting hit by a pitch from Hammerheads starter Manuel Genao. He moved to second on a single by Juan Villavicencio and scored on an error to double the Threshers’ lead. Will Vierling added a third run with a leadoff homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth.

Following an RBI double with one out in the sixth gave Jupiter their first run of the game, the game went into a rain delay with the Threshers leading by two in the top of the sixth inning. After the game resumed play, Jupiter added a second run to cut the deficit to one. They took their first lead of the game with two runs in the top of the eighth.

The lead didn’t last long, as Nathan Humphreys led off the inning by drawing a walk against Hammerheads reliever Juan De La Cruz. He advanced to third on a hit-and-run single by Hogart, and Beltran followed with a single to right to tie the game at four. After a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, Angel Mata led off the home half of the inning with a single to right field against Jupiter’s closer, Luis Ramirez. Robert Phelps replaced him on first as a pinch runner and advanced to second on a walk drawn by Lyle Miller-Green. With one out in the inning, Humphreys hit a hard ground ball to first that was misplayed by Julio Henriquez. The ball went into foul territory as Phelps came around to score from second to seal a 5-4 walkoff win.

Giussepe Velásquez tossed 4.0 shutout innings with two hits, two walks, and five strikeouts in a no-decision. Peyton Havard surrendered two runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout in 1.1 innings. Tegan Cain struck out three batters in 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings. Tyler Bowen allowed two runs on two hits and three walks without recording an out in the eighth, resulting in a blown save. Luis Avila retired all three batters he faced in the eighth inning, and Marty Gair (1-2) earned the win with two strikeouts and a walk in a scoreless and hitless ninth.

Both of the Threshers’ home runs led off an inning...Mata has reached base safely in each of the past seven games...Villavicencio recorded a hit in every game he played against the Hammerheads...Clearwater took their fifth wakoff win of the season on Sunday...Mata recorded his third multi-hit game for the Threshers...The Threshers will begin a six-game home series against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels on Tuesday, June 30...First pitch on Tuesday evening will take place at 6:30 pm...You can purchase Threshers tickets at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457…The BayCare Ballpark Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10 am – 5 pm...The box office will be open on Saturdays from 10 am - 3 pm...Visit our website at threshersbaseball.com for information on tickets and promotions for the Threshers season.