Bradenton Marauders 6, Jupiter Hammerheads 1
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Three Marauders’ pitchers held the Hammerheads to just one run on 4 hits to earn win #5 for Quinton Miller and Save #1 for Duke Welker. Miller pitched 5 scoreless innings, scattering two singles and two walks. He worked around two runners on base (single and walk) in the 1st inning. In the 5th, a Jupiter runner reached as far as third base — a single, a ground out, and a balk by Miller, but Miller got a strike out and a fly out to end the inning with the runner still on third. Brian Leach pitched the 6th and 7th innings. He gave up the only Jupiter run in the 6th, on a single, a stolen base, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly. Duke Welker earned his Save with two scoreless innings. He gave up a single in the 8th, but erased the runner with a double play, then retired the side in order in the 9th, striking out the last two batters of the game.
The Marauders’ offense was led by DH Calvin Anderson and CF Evan Chambers, both of whom collected 2 hits. Anderson started the Marauders’ scoring with a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd. RF Robbie Grossman started a rally in the 3rd with a walk, then moved to second when 2B Jarek Cunningham was hit by a pitch. C Ramon Cabrera’s grounder forced out Cunningham at second, but a throwing error by the Jupiter second baseman allowed Cabrera to reach first safely, and so Grossman scored, for a 2-0 lead.
Grossman began another rally in the 5th with a single lined into center field. Cunningham tripled into center, plating Grossman, and a sacrifice fly by Cabrera let Cunningham score. That gave the Marauders a 4-0 lead. After Jupiter scored in the 6th, the Marauders added even more insurance with 2 more runs in the 8th. Anderson singled and stole second base, then moved to third when Chambers singled. Chambers also stole second base, to put both runners into scoring position. Anderson scored on LF David Rubinstein’s RBI single and Chambers scored on SS Benji Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly.
GCL Pirates 5, GCL Blue Jays 3
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Two Pirates’ batters, RF Willie Garcia and 3B Yhonathan Barrios, collected 3 hits each as the Pirates posted 10 hits in their Opening Day win. Orlando Castro made the start for the Pirates and pitched 4 innings, allowing just one run. That run came in the 2nd inning, when a double, a walk, and a single loaded the bases, and an RBI ground out scored the runner from third. Castro allowed one other single and one other walk, while striking out 4 in the rest of his afternoon’s work.
The Pirates tied the game in the top of the 4th, when Barrios doubled, stole third, and scored on a throwing error by the Jays’ pitcher. Barrios walked to begin the top of the 6th, and came around to score on DH Jonathan Schwind’s RBI double. The Jays tied the score again in the bottom of the frame with a solo home run.
A 3-run 7th inning gave the Pirates the big boost. SS Ashley Ponce led off with a walk, and moved to second base on a wild pitch. Garcia singled, and with a missed catch error by the Jays’ first baseman, Ponce was able to score. A triple by Barrios plated Garcia, and a double by LF Jose Osuna drove in Barrios, to give the Pirates a 5-2 lead.
Logan Pevny relieved Castro to begin the 5th inning. He pitched the next 4 innings and allowed the solo homer in the 6th. In the 8th, Pevny surrendered an unearned run, on a double, and a throwing error by 1B Lakind. Wilson Lee took over for Pevny for the bottom of the 9th. He had a batter reach on a fielding error by RF Garcia, but left him on base with two strikeouts and a fly out.
