LAKELAND 13, TAMPA 4

LAKELAND (Interstat) — Carson Rucker drove in four runs with two doubles Saturday, powering the Lakeland Flying Tigers to a 13-4 rout of the Tampa Tarpons at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The Flying Tigers scored in seven of nine innings, plating two in the first and three in the ninth to secure their second straight win. Lakeland improved to 2-0, while Tampa fell to 0-2 before a crowd of 1,927.

Winning pitcher Tyler Owens earned the victory in relief. Tampa’s Yerry Rodríguez took the loss. Lakeland’s Malachi Witherspoon provided four strong innings, allowing one earned run. The game time was 3 hours, 26 minutes.