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Charlotte Stone Crabs 8, Bradenton Marauders 0
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The Marauders did not have their hitting shoes on either, as they were held to two hits and one walk tonight. The first 11 Marauders’ batters went down in order, before C Ramon Cabrera singled to third with two outs in the 4th. A throwing error by the Charlotte third baseman let Cabrera reach second base, but a line out by 1B Aaron Baker left Cabrera there on second. Bradenton went down in order in the next three innings as well, until LF David Rubinstein hit a ground-rule double to center with one out in the 8th. He was also left on base. RF Robbie Grossman walked in the 9th inning, and was also left on.
Bradenton starter Brett Lorin pitched 5 innings and was responsible for 2 of Charlotte’s runs. He gave up an unearned run in the 1st inning on a single, a throwing error by 3B Kelson Brown, and a sacrifice fly/double play (but the run still scored). Lorin retired the Stone Crabs in order for the next 3 innings, then gave up another run (earned) in the 5th with a double, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single. He also walked a batter in that inning. He exited after 5 innings, having allowed 3 hits and the one walk, with 5 strikeouts.
Eliecer Navarro relieved Lorin to begin the 6th, and that’s when things got out of hand. With one out, four straight batters reached base: a triple, a walk, an RBI single, and a 3-run homer, to give Charlotte a 6-0 lead. Navarro gave up two unearned runs in the 7th. That inning began with a single, and a force out at second. A fielding error by RF Grossman put runners on second and third bases, and both runners scored on a ground-rule double. After a strikeout and a walk, Zach Foster relieved Navarro. The first batter Foster faced singled up the middle. CF Evan Chambers’ throw to third base let Brown tag out the runner who was trying to go from first to third, ending the inning. Foster pitched the final two innings. In the 8th, with two outs, Foster walked three consecutive batters, but ended the inning with a strike out, leaving the bases loaded. He retired the side in order, much less dramatically, in the 9th.
Lexington Legends 7, West Virginia Power 1
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The Power posted more hits than the Curve and the Marauders combined — six hits — but managed only one run. Starter Brandon Cumpton surrendered 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st, on a walk, a triple, and an RBI single, to give Lexington a 2-0 lead. After going down in order in the first two innings, the Power cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the 3rd. LF Rogelios Noris led off with a line drive single into left field. He made it to third on 3B Eric Avila’s single into right field, then scored on SS Drew Maggi’s sacrifice fly.
Cumpton faced the minimum over the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings. The only batter to reach base got on in the 4th, on a fielding error by Maggi, but was caught trying to steal second base. Lexington broke the game wide open in the 5th, scoring 5 runs. A double and a fielding error by Noris put the lead-off runner on third, and he scored on an RBI ground out. Back-to-back doubles followed, adding a second run. After a single and an RBI ground out brought in run #3, Cumpton was relieved by Kevin Decker. The first batter Decker faced smashed a 2-run homer, and the Legends had a 7-1 lead.
The Power put at least one runner on base in all but one inning after the 3rd. Their biggest threat came in the 6th, when 1B Justin Howard doubled with one out. C Kawika Emsley-Pai walked, and a single by DH Elias Diaz loaded the bases. But a strikeout and a pop out ended the inning with all three runners still on base. CF Mel Rojas singled and RF Dan Grovatt walked in the 7th, but they could not come around to score.
Trent Stevenson took over for Decker to betin the 7th inning. He gave up a walk, but kept Lexington from scoring. Zac Fuesser pitched a scoreless 8th inning. He struck out one, and hit a batter, but erased that runner with a double play.
