Bradenton Marauders 6, Brevard County Manatees 5
[box]
The Marauders blasted out 6 runs in the 1st inning, then had to hang on for the win. The bottom of the 1st began with the first five Marauders reaching base safely: a double by RF Robbie Grossman, a single by 2B Jarek Cunningham, a walk to C Ramon Cabrera to load the bases; another walk, to 1B Aaron Baker to force in Grossman, a double by 3B Elevys Gonzalez driving in Cunningham and Cabrera. After a strikeout, a wild pitch allowed Baker to score from third base. LF David Rubinstein singled, driving in Elevys Gonzalez and chasing the Manatees’ starter. The new pitcher was greeted by a triple off the bat of DH Adalberto Santos, forcing in Rubinstein with the 6th run of the inning.
The Marauders threatened again in the 3rd, when CF Evan Chambers doubled and both Rubinstein and Santos walked. But a strikeout and a fly out left all three runners on base. They put 2 runners on base with Cabrera’s double and Elevys Gonzalez’s single in the 4th, but did not score. The Marauders had at least one base runner in all but one inning for the rest of the game, but did not score again. They left 8 runners on base. Cabrera doubled again in the 6th, and SS Benji Gonzalez also doubled.
Starter Phillip Irwin pitched into the 7th inning. He worked around runners on the corners with a double and a single in the 2nd, and singles in the 3rd and 4th. Irwin also allowed 2 singles in the 6th. The Manatees got onto the scoreboard with a double and a 2-run homer in the 5th. Irwin began the 7th inning with three consecutive singles to load the bases. A double play erased two runners, but allowed a run to score and left another runner on third. An RBI single plated that runner from third and sent Irwin to the showers. He had allowed 4 runs on 12 hits and a walk, with 5 strikeouts. Brett Sinkbeil relieved Irwin and ended the inning with a strikeout.
Sinkbeil pitched a scoreless 8th inning, allowing a walk. Ryan Beckman took over to pitch the top of the 9th. He gave up the Manatees’ final run on a double, a passed ball, and an RBI ground out.
West Virginia Power 5, Lexington Legends 1
[box]
Zack Von Rosenberg earned his first win of the season and struck out 7 batters in his 6-inning start. Von Rosenberg allowed just one run on 3 hits and did not walk a batter. He buzzed through the first two innings, then gave up a run in the 3rd inning, on a single, a stolen base, and a line drive RBI single. Von Rosenberg also gave up a single in the 5th inning, but C Kawika Emsley-Pai threw that runner out as he tried to steal second base. Von Rosenberg finished up his outing by striking out the side in the 6th.
The Power provided Von Rosenberg with some run support with a solo home run by LF Rogelios Noris in the 2nd inning, and another run in the 3rd. SS Drew Maggi opened the 3rd by reaching base on a fielding error. CF Mel Rojas singled, and RF Dan Grovatt’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Maggi scored on 1B Justin Howard’s RBI ground out.
Two singles, by 3B Eric Avila and 2B Andy Vasquez, and a walk by Maggi loaded the bases with two outs for the Power in the 4th. A ground out ended the inning with all three runners on base. But the power took advantage of two Lexington errors to score 2 unearned runs in the 6th. DH Elias Diaz reached base on a throwing error by the Lexington third baseman. Noris singled to third, then Avila reached on a fielding error by the third baseman, allowing Diaz to score from second base. A new reliever struck out Vasquez, then struck out Maggi. The Lexington catcher dropped Maggi’s strike three, and when he fired the ball to first base to complete the play, Noris raced to the plate and scored on the throw. The Power scored one more run in the 8th. With two outs, Avila doubled into center field, and scored on Vasquez’s RBI single.
Victor Black relieved Von Rosenberg in the 7th inning. Black pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing just a walk. Brooks Pounders finished up the game with a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th.
