St. Lucie Mets �5, �Bradenton Pirates 4 �(11 innings) (box)
Back-to-back solo homers off reliever Mike Colla in the bottom of the 9th inning tied the score at 4-4. �Then in the bottom of the 11th, with Colla still on the mound, a single and a grounder force out left a runner on first. �Mike Felix relieved Colla, and a wild pitch put that runner on second. �After a walk, an RBI single brought in the runner from second base and gave St. Lucie the walk-off win.
The Marauders scored their first run in the 2nd inning. �Walks to 1B Calvin Anderson and 3B Jeremy Farrell and a wild pitch put runners on the corners with one out. �RF Erik Huber ground into a force out that allowed Anderson to score. �C Eric Fryer followed with a double, but the inning ended without another run scoring. �Another run scored in the 6th inning, when DH Starling Marte singled, stole second base, and scored on a double by Anderson.
The Mets got onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the 6th, on a double, a passed ball, and a sacrifice fly. �The Marauders extended their lead in the top of the 7th. �Huber led off with a double, but was out at third when Fryer reached on a fielder’s choice. �CF Austin McClune singled, moving Fryer to third base, and a sacrifice fly by SS Brock Holt scored Fryer. �McClune stole second, and walks to 2B Greg Picart and Marte loaded the bases. �One more walk to Anderson forced in McClune and gave Bradenton a 4-1 lead. �St. Lucie added another unearned run in the 8th, when a throwing error put a runner on second base, and two ground outs brought him around to score.
Bryan Morris made the start for the Marauders and he struck out 8 batters. �In 6 innings, he allowed only the first unearned run, on 4 hits and a walk. �Tyler Cox pitched 2 innings and gave up the second unearned run, on 2 hits. �Colla was charged with the Blown Save and the loss. �Starling Marte had two hits in the game, as did Eric Fryer and Calvin Anderson.
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West Virginia Power �10, �Kannapolis Intimidators 6 �(7 innings) (box)
The Power split a double-header with Kannapolis this afternoon, with the first game going to West Virginia. �The Power batters posted 12 hits, including 3 by LF Rogelios Noris (two doubles and a homer), and 2 each by 2B Jarek Cunningham, DH David Rubinstein, and SS Benji Gonzalez.
Noris got the ball rolling in the 2nd inning with a double, and he made it to third base on an error in center field. �RF Wes Freeman brought in Noris with another double, and Freeman scored on another fielding error. �A throwing error contributed to the scoring in the 3rd inning. �3B Jesus Brito reached base on a throwing error, and so he was on base when Noris homered, giving the Power a 4-0 lead. �David Rubinstein’s double, followed by an RBI single by Benji Gonzalez made it 5-0 in the 4th inning.
Then Kannapolis tied it up. �Power starter Hunter Strickland had scattered 4 singles and 2 walks over the first 5 innings, but thanks to two timely double plays and a caught stealing, no runs had scored. �In the bottom of the 6th, Strickland allowed the first three batters to reach base, on two singles and a walk. �A sacrifice fly brought in one run, then a 3-run homer cleaned the bases. Marc Baca relieved Strickland, but he gave up an unearned run on a double and a fielding error, before a double play ended the inning with the score 5-5.
The Power came roaring back in the top of the 7th. �Kannapolis’ 4th error (fielding) put Benji Gonzalez on base, and a sacrifice bunt by CF Evan Chambers moved Gonzalez to second base. �Jarek Cunningham greeted a new relief pitcher with an RBI single, then Jesus Brito singled, 1B Aaron Baker tripled, and Rogelios Noris and David Rubinstein both doubled — 4 more runs in, giving the Power a 10-5 lead. �Baca gave up a walk, a single, and a sacrifice fly to give the Mets one more run in the bottom of the 7th. �Zachary Foster came on to get the last out of the inning and finish the game.
Intimidators 5, �Power 0 (box)
The Power used up all their bat power in the first game, apparently. �They managed only 4 hits in the second game — four singles, by 1B Aaron Baker, DH Kyle Morgan, C Ramon Cabrera, and SS Benji Gonzalez. �They also had 6 batters reach base on walks, but could not get any of them around to score. �The first 8 Power batters went down in order, with just a walk to Gonzalez in the 3rd inning.
The Power had two innings in which they loaded the bases, but could not score. �The 4th�inning began with 2B Jarek Cunningham striking out, then getting tossed for arguing by plate umpire Mike Walsh. �The next three Power batters, 3B Jesus Brito, Aaron Baker, and LF Rogelios Noris, all walked to load the bases. �But Morgan bounced into a double play to end the inning — no runs scoring. �With one out in the 5th, Cabrera and Gonzalez hit back-to-back singles, and CF Evan Chambers loaded the bases with a walk. �A grounder off the bat of Adenson Chourio, who had replaced Cunningham at second base, let Kannapolis force out Cabrera at the plate for the second out. �A strikeout ended the inning, and again no runs scored.
Nate Baker made the start for the Power. �He pitched out of a 2-runner jam in the 1st inning, and worked around a lead-off single in the 2nd inning, but kept Kannapolis from scoring. �He couldn’t avoid trouble in the 3rd inning, though, first giving up a solo homer, then a single, a stolen base, and an RBI single, to give Kannapolis a 2-0 lead. �Another solo homer made it 3-0 in the 5th inning. �Jason Erickson relieved Baker and finished the 5th inning, then pitched the 6th inning and allowed 2 more runs. �Back-to-back doubles followed by a single brought in those two runs.
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