Bradenton Marauders 16, Fort Myers Miracle 5
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The Marauders bombarded the Miracle, including a pair of 5-run innings and a total of 15 hits, as Brian Leach made his first start of the season and earned his first win for the Marauders. Each member of the starting lineup except LF David Rubinstein had at least one hit, and Rubinstein walked twice and contributed 2 RBI. 2B Adalberto Santos and CF Evan Chambers each had 3 hits.
RF Robbie Grossman began the festivities with a lead-off double in the bottom of the 1st. Santos tripled, scoring Grossman. 1B Aaron Baker walked, and DH Calvin Anderson brought in Santos with a sacrifice fly. Chambers and C Carlos Paulino blasted back-to-back homers (2-run homer for Chambers) to give the Marauders a 5-0 lead. They kept right on rolling in the 2nd inning, beginning with a triple by SS Benji Gonzalez. Grossman singled, plating Gonzalez, and Santos doubled. Grossman scored on an RBI ground out, and Santos scored on Anderson’s second sacrifice fly in two innings, increasing the lead to 8-0.
Leach had retired the first 7 Miracle batters in order, then had a batter reach on a fielding error by Benji Gonzalez in the top of the 3rd. A passed ball put the runner on second base, and he scored an unearned run on an RBI single. Two doubles gave the Miracle another run in the 4th, but they were clearly in deep water already. The Marauders scored one run in the 3rd, when Paulino was hit by a pitch, went to third on Benji Gonzalez’s double, and scored on a wild pitch. Santos was hit by a pitch, and the umpires took exception, thinking that it was revenge, so the Miracle starting pitcher was ejected. Two more runs scored in the 4th. Anderson reached base on a throwing error, then 3B Elevys Gonzalez singled, and Chambers doubled, bringing in Anderson. An RBI ground out by Rubinstein brought Elevys Gonazalez across the plate, and the Marauders led by 11-2.
Leach retired the side in order in the 5th, then began the 6th with a single and a walk, then two strikeouts. Another single drove in a run, and that was the end of Leach’s night. Tyler Cox relieved Leach, and allowed one more run to score (charged to Leach) on an RBI single before ending the inning. Leach was responsible for 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and a walk, with 4 strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Cox gave up another run to the Miracle in the top of the 7th, on a pair of doubles.
The Marauders had one more big inning in the bottom of the 7th, courtesy of 7 walks by the new Miracle reliever. He walked the first three batters he faced (Rubinstein, Benji Gonzalez, and Grossman). Santos plated Rubinstein with a sacrifice fly, then Baker walked to load the bases again. A single by Anderson scored both Gonzalez and Grossman. Chambers walked and again the bases were full of Marauders. Paulino must have said something to the home plate umpire, because he was ejected in the middle of his at-bat. Ramon Cabrera took over for Paulino and he walked, forcing in Baker. Rubinstein walked for the second time in the inning, forcing in Anderson, and the Miracle changed pitchers again. A quick pop up ended the inning, but the Marauders had added 5 more runs, for a 16- 5 score.
Cox came back out to pitch the 8th inning, and got three outs, but a passed ball on strike three put a runner on base. A fielding error gave the Miracle a second base runner, and Cox was relieved by Zach Foster. Foster got the fourth strikeout of the inning, then pitched a scoreless 9th to finish the game.
Hickory Crawdads 7, West Virginia Power 5
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The Power scored early, but the Crawdads came on late for the come-from-behind win. RF Dan Grovatt began the game with a single into left field, and stole second base. He moved to third on CF Mel Rojas’ infield single, and Rojas advanced to second base on a wild pitch. LF Cole White brought both runners in with a line drive single into center field for a 2-0 lead. The Power added 3 runs in the 3rd, when 1B Justin Howard and White both walked, then DH Rogelios Noris slammed a 3-run homer, for a 5-0 lead.
Starter Tyler Waldron retired the first 12 Crawdads in order, but disaster struck in the 5th. The first four batters reached base safely, on three singles and a walk, for one run. A bases-loaded ground out added a second run, then another single brought in two more runs, to bring the Crawdads within one run of the Power, 5-4. A walk put two runners on base, and a wild pitch moved both into scoring position. Waldron halted the scoring when a tapper back to the mound let him throw back to C Elias Diaz, who tagged out the lead runner at the plate.
Brooks Pounders relieved Waldron to begin the bottom of the 6th. Pounders retired the side in order in the 6th, but was charged with a Blown Save and the Loss when he surrendered 3 runs in the 7th. A single, a stolen base, and a throwing error by Diaz put the Crawdad’s lead-off runner on third. The next batter walked, and when Howard missed the catch on a pick-off throw, the runner from third scored the tying run. A hit batter put a second runner on, and another throwing error by Diaz on a steal attempt let the lead runner score the go-ahead run. An RBI double brought in an insurance run, and sent Pounders to the clubhouse. Kevin Decker took over on the mound. A walk and a wild pitch loaded the bases for the Crawdads before Decker got a strikeout to end the inning.
The Power had only one hit after the 3rd inning — a single by Rojas in the 7th. They had runners on base due to walks — Grovatt walked in the 4th but was caught stealing, and both Noris and 3B Chase Lyles walked in the 6th and were left on base. The last 8 Power batters were set down in order, and the Crawdads’ runs went unanswered.
Jamestown Jammers 2, State College Spikes 1 (Game 1)
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The Spikes’ only run in the first game of the make-up double header came in the top of the 2nd inning, when RF Justin Bencsko walked, stole second, then scored on SS Kirk Singer’s RBI single. The Spikes had at least one runner on base in all but one of the rest of the innings (7 inning game), but could not get any of them around to score. Three Spikes’ batters picked up singles: Bencsko in the 4th, 2B Jorge Bishop in the 5th, and LF Exicardo Cayones in the 7th. They loaded the bases in the 6th without benefit of a hit, when C Derek Trent walked, 1B Chris Lashmet reached on a fielding error, and Benscko walked again, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning without a run scoring.
Ryan Hafner pitched 4 scoreless innings in his start for the Spikes. He scattered 3 singles an
d a double, no walks, and worked around two fielding errors by 3B Walker Gourley. Bryce Weidman took over for Hafner and pitched a scoreless 5th inning, but got into trouble in the 6th. A walk, a single, and a stolen base put two runners into scoring position. An RBI ground out brought in the tying run, and the winning run scored on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by Gourley.
State College Spikes 4, Jamestown Jammers 1 (Game 2)
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The Spikes came back with a win in the night-cap to earn a split of the double-header. LF Alex Fuselier got the scoring started in the 3rd inning when he followed CF Taylor Lewis’ walk with a triple into right field. RF Justin Bencsko singled, plating Fuselier.
The Jammers came back with a run in the bottom of the 3rd on a fielding error by 3B Chris Lashmet, a single, and a sacrifice fly. The Spikes came right back in the top of the 4th with a 2-out single by C Samuel Gonzalez and an RBI double by 1B Matt Skirving.
That unearned run in the bottom of the 3rd was the only run allowed by Spikes’ starter Matt Benedict. He allowed 5 hits, no walks, and struck out one batter. Benedict began the bottom of the 5th wiht a hit batter, and a grounder force out at second. He was relieved by Fraylin Campos, who ended the inning with a double play.
The Spikes added another insurance run in the top of the 6th. Benscko walked and stole second base. Lashmet’s single moved him to third, and he scored when DH Carlos Mesa bounced into a double play. Campos pitched a scoreless bottom of the 6th, and worked around a lead-off single to keep the Jammers from scoring in the 7th.
GCL Braves 6, GCL Pirates 4
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The Pirates had the lead in the first half of the game, but the Braves scored 3 runs in the last two innings to take the win. 2B Alen Hanson got the Pirates going in the bottom of the 1st with a lead off double. SS Jodaneli Carvajal’s bunt turned into a single, moving Hanson to third, and CF Willy Garcia loaded the bases when he reached on a fielding error. RF Gregory Polanco walked, forcing in the first run of the game. A wild pitch scored Carvajal, and a single by LF Jose Osuna brought in Garcia, before any outs had been recorded.
Wilson Lee retired the Braves in order in the top of the 1st, but gave up an unearned run on a fielding error, a single, and a wild pitch in the 2nd inning. The Braves added 2 more in the 3rd inning with a single and a 2-run homer, to tie the game at 3-3.
Osuna came right back with his own solo homer in the 3rd, to put the Pirates ahead again, 4-3. Chris Richardson took over for Lee to finish up the 3rd, then he pitched 3 more scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk. Richardson was aided by two timely double plays.
The Pirates put runners on base over the middle innings, but did not score — a single by DH Jon Schwind in the 5th, a single by 3B Ashley Ponce in the 6th, and a triple by Garcia in the 7th. Robert Kilcrease took the mound to begin the 7th, and retired the side in order. But in the 8th, he gave up a single and an RBI triple, to tie the score again, 4-4. With one out in the top of the 9th, Kilcrease surrendered the go-ahead run on two singles and a sacrifice fly. The Braves then added an insurance run with a hit batter and a fielding error. The Pirates could only get one hit, a single by Ponce, in the bottom of the inning, and the Braves took the win.
