HAMMERHEADS SPLIT SUNDAY DOUBLEHEADER WITH PALM BEACH, HENRIQUEZ WALKS IT OFF IN GAME TWO

JUPITER, FL — The Jupiter Hammerheads had their backs against the wall Sunday afternoon at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, but they refused to go quietly. After dropping game one of a doubleheader to the Palm Beach Cardinals 7-4 — handing Palm Beach the series victory — Jupiter rallied for a dramatic 4-3 walk-off win in game two to split the twin bill and salvage some pride heading into the week.

Game One: A Late Surge, Not Enough

The Cardinals controlled the opener from the jump. Sebastian Dos Santos launched his first Single-A home run in the third inning to open the scoring, and Palm Beach never looked back. Starter Walin Castillo (L, 1-5) ran into trouble in the fifth, surrendering a two-RBI single to Ryan Mitchell, and Mitchell added salt to the wound with a three-run shot in the seventh to push the lead to 7-0.

Jupiter showed some fight in their final at-bats. Luis Arana knocked an RBI double, and Edguardo De Leon followed with a three-run home run — his third of the year with Jupiter — to make it 7-4. But the Hammerheads ran out of outs, and Palm Beach secured the series win.

Game Two: Walk-Off Magic

Game two was a different story entirely. Jupiter jumped out to a 2-0 lead through two innings behind RBI contributions from Julio Henriquez and Jeremy Almonte. Starter Manuel Genao kept the Cardinals quiet for most of the afternoon before Palm Beach's Brayden Smith cracked a go-ahead two-RBI triple in the sixth, followed by a Matthew Miura single that gave Palm Beach a 3-2 edge heading into the final frame.

With their season on the line in the seventh, the Hammerheads manufactured chaos. A single, an error, another error — suddenly the bases were loaded and the game was tied. Henriquez stepped to the plate and drew a walk-off walk, sending Jupiter home with a 4-3 victory and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

Henriquez finished with an RBI groundout and the walk-off plate appearance in what was arguably the most complete two-way team effort of the series.

The Hammerheads move to 38-31 on the season. Jupiter returns to action this week at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.