The Jupiter Hammerheads defeated the St. Lucie Mets 3-2 Thursday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Jupiter entered the game 19-26 in the current split and 56-55 overall, while St. Lucie entered at 17-28 in the split and 50-61 overall. The victory improved Jupiter to 19-13 in one-run games and 10-5 against St. Lucie this season.
Cam Kozeal opened the scoring with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. It was Kozeal’s second home run of the year, and both of his home runs have gone to the opposite field. The home run came against St. Lucie starting pitcher Nathan Hall, who was charged with the loss and listed with an 0-1 record.
Jupiter extended its lead in the bottom of the second inning after loading the bases with two outs. Echedry Vargas delivered a two-RBI single to left field to give the Hammerheads a 3-0 lead. The RBIs were Vargas’ league-leading 68th and 69th of the year.
Jupiter starting pitcher Elier Morillo worked 3 2/3 innings, a season high, and struck out eight batters. The strikeout total also was a season high and tied Morillo’s career high. Luis De La Cruz followed with 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to earn the win and improve to 3-2.
St. Lucie cut into the deficit in the top of the seventh inning against Jupiter relief pitcher Davidson Lara. Wyatt Vincent led off with a double down the left-field line before Dylan Carey hit a two-run home run to make the score 3-2. Lara recorded a hold for Jupiter.
Samuel Carpio entered in the eighth inning and pitched the eighth and ninth innings to earn his sixth save. He allowed a one-out single in the eighth but kept the Mets off the scoreboard and secured the 3-2 victory. The Hammerheads and Mets were scheduled to meet Saturday, Aug. 15, in Game 5 of the six-game series for Hammie’s Birthday Bash, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
Source: Original report