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Charlotte Stone Crabs� 5,� Bradenton Marauders� 3 …��� (box)
The Marauder’s rally in the top of the 9th fell short as they lost to Charlotte.� The Marauders started the game with a double by 2B Shelby Ford and an RBI single by RF Robbie Grossman in the top of the 1st.� Charlotte answered with a run in the bottom of the 1st, on a double, a walk, and an RBI single.� Bradenton starter Nate Baker retired the side in order in the 2nd, but got into trouble again in the 3rd.� Two runs came in on a single followed by a 2-run homer, then two more singles added another run, and Charlotte had a 4-1 lead.� Baker walked two batters with one out in the 4th, and he was relieved by Duke Welker. Welker ended that inning, then buzzed through the next two innings.� He gave up a run in the 7th on a walk, a stolen base, and a double.� Tyler Cox pitched a scoreless bottom of the 8th for the Marauders.
After scoring in the 1st, the Marauders could not do it again until the 9th.� They loaded the bases in the 3rd inning on back-to-back singles by DH James Skelton and SS Greg Picart. Ford sacrifice bunted the two into scoring position, and Grossman loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch.� Two strikeouts ended that threat without a run coming in.� Things were quiet until LF Quincy Latimore led off the top of the 9th with a solo home run (his 19th of the season).� 1B Calvin Anderson doubled, and 3B Adam Davis singled, moving Anderson to third base.� Anderson scored on Skelton’s RBI single, but the inning and the game ended with a pop out and a ground out.
The Marauders are clinging to a one-game lead of the Florida State League South Division, with Fort Myers on their heels and two games left to play.
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Hagerstown Suns� 6,� West Virginia Power� 5 …���� (box)
Another come-back attempt that fell short.� The Power scored first, with a run in the bottom of the 1st, when 2B Jarek Cunningham singled, moved to second on passed ball, to third on a wild pitch, and scored on CF Evan Chambers’ sacrifice fly.
Starter Quinton Miller held the Suns to one hit over the first two innings, then surrendered an unearned run in the 3rd on a single, a bunt with a throwing error by 3B Jesus Brito, then a fielding error by Brito, and an RBI groundout.� In the 4th, a single, a walk, and a fielding error by 1B Kyle Morgan loaded the bases for the Suns.� One run scored with an RBI single, and another with an RBI ground out (one earned, one unearned).� Mike Williams took over for Miller to begin the 6th.� Williams gave up a solo home run in that inning, then two more runs in the 7th on a double, a triple, and a single.� Ryan Kelly had the best night of the Power pitching staff, as he struck out 4 of the 7 batters he faced, and had one reach on a fielding error.
The Power batters posted 10 hits, with Morgan leading the way on 3 hits, including a solo home run to begin the 7th.� DH David Rubinstein also had a single and a double.� SS Benji Gonzalez doubled in the 3rd inning, and Rubinstein and Morgan had back-to-back singles in the 4th.� Chambers doubled and stole third base in the 6th.� After Morgan’s homer in the 7th, C Jairo Marquez and Brito singled, and Marquez scored on RF Andy Vasquez’s ground out, to cut the Suns’ lead in half, 6-3.� With one out in the 8th, LF Rogelios Noris walked, and advanced to third base on Rubinstein’s double.� Morgan singled, driving in both Noris and Rubinstein, and the Power were within one run of the Suns, 6-5.� Morgan moved to third base on a ground out, but a strikeout ended the inning.� The Suns’ reliever struck out three Power batters in the bottom of the 9th, and the Power were out of time.
No playoff hopes for the Power, unfortunately.� They finished last (7th) in the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division in the first half of the season, and are currently in 5th place, 9 games behind first-place Lakewood and 1.5 games behind fourth-place Kannapolis with 3 games left to play.
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Williamsport Crosscutters� 3,� State College Spikes� 0 ..��� (box)
This one was all Williamsport, as the Spikes were held to just 2 hits — singles by CF Mel Rojas and DH Kelson Brown. They also walked four times, twice for RF Cole White and once each for SS Drew Maggi and 3B Walker Gourley. The only inning in which the Spikes had more than one runner on base, and the only time when they had a runner reach second base, was the 4th.� Rojas led off with a single into center field, then stole second base.� After two outs, White walked, but a ground out ended their chances.
Spikes’ starter Zack Dodson pitched 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk — not bad, but not good enough for this game, and he was charged with the loss.� One run scored in the 1st inning on a double and two ground outs.� He worked around a fielding error in each of the 2nd and 3rd innings, and he worked around a lead-off double in the 5th.� In the 4th, a walk, a single, and a grounder force out put runners on the corners, then a wild pitch brought the runner in from third base.� Joely Rodriguez relieved Dodson for the final three innings.� He gave up an unearned run in the 6th.� After a single, the next batter struck out, but the base runner stole second base on strike three.� Throwing errors by C Matt Skirving and CF Rojas allowed the runner to advance to third base, and then come in to score.� Rodriguez gave up only a walk over the last two innings.
The Spikes are also out of the playoff picture.� They are currently in 5th place in the New York-Penn League’s Pinckney division, 12.5 games behind first-place Batavia and 2 games behind fourth-place Auburn, with two games left to play.
