Cardinals Drop Opener to Marauders, 7-4
The Palm Beach Cardinals (6-8) fell to the Bradenton Marauders (9-5), as they pounded out seven runs on 11 hits to beat the Cardinals 7-5.
Starter Chris Corrigan (2-3) fell behind early, as he gave up a one-out triple to Gift Ngoepe, setting up the Marauders with runners in the first with one out. The Marauders cashed in, as Mel Rojas grounded it out to make it 1-0.
In the top of the frame, the Cardinals got back-to-back singles from Mike O'Neill and Starlin Rodriguez with nobody out. First round pick (No.23rd overall) James Ramsey hit a line drive to the 5-6 hole, but Ngoepe made a tremendous catching, robbing Ramsey of a hit and an RBI. The next two hitters, Chris Edmondson both hit ball hards, but could not drive in the run.
The Marauders fed off the momentum as they scored six unanswered runs in the next six innings to make it a 7-0 lead. The big blow came in the seventh inning, as reliever Chase Reid recorded two outs on six pitches and looked to be out of the frame as he induced an inning ending groundball; however he dropped the flip from Jeremy Patton, allowing the runner to reach base. The next batter singled before Carlos Paulino smacked a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence to extend the lead.
Marauders starter Casey Sadler (1-3) was on point tonight, tossing seven innings of shut out ball. He scattered six hits, walking one, while striking out three. He avoided big innings, as he allowed two runners to reach second base.
The Cardinals avoided the shutout in the ninth inning, as they scored four runs on five hits. Geoff Klein started the rally with a leadoff double. Zach Foster recorded two outs via the strikeout before Tyler Rahmatulla drove in Klein with an RBI single. Gil followed with a single an infield single, scoring Rahmatulla on the errant throw by the third baseman. O'Neill added another hit to his total, tripling to left and driving in Gil. Starlin Rodriguez drove in O'Neill with an infield single to cut the lead to 7-4. However, the comeback would fall short, as Ramsey grounded out to end the game.
On the night, the Cardinals were led by Ronny Gil as he went 3-for-4, while Starlin Rodriguez added three hits and an RBI. Geoff Klein extended his hitting streak to eighth games with his double in the ninth.
The Cardinals return to action tomorrow night, as they resume their series with the Bradenton Marauders at 6:35 p.m. on 'Dollar Night.' Bradley Watson (0-3) will try and record his first win of the season.
For more information on the Palm Beach Cardinals, Class-A Advanced affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, please call (561) 775-1818 or visit www.palmbeachcardinals.com. For tickets and more information regarding Roger Dean Stadium, please visit www.rogerdeanstadium.com
Starter Chris Corrigan (2-3) fell behind early, as he gave up a one-out triple to Gift Ngoepe, setting up the Marauders with runners in the first with one out. The Marauders cashed in, as Mel Rojas grounded it out to make it 1-0.
In the top of the frame, the Cardinals got back-to-back singles from Mike O'Neill and Starlin Rodriguez with nobody out. First round pick (No.23rd overall) James Ramsey hit a line drive to the 5-6 hole, but Ngoepe made a tremendous catching, robbing Ramsey of a hit and an RBI. The next two hitters, Chris Edmondson both hit ball hards, but could not drive in the run.
The Marauders fed off the momentum as they scored six unanswered runs in the next six innings to make it a 7-0 lead. The big blow came in the seventh inning, as reliever Chase Reid recorded two outs on six pitches and looked to be out of the frame as he induced an inning ending groundball; however he dropped the flip from Jeremy Patton, allowing the runner to reach base. The next batter singled before Carlos Paulino smacked a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence to extend the lead.
Marauders starter Casey Sadler (1-3) was on point tonight, tossing seven innings of shut out ball. He scattered six hits, walking one, while striking out three. He avoided big innings, as he allowed two runners to reach second base.
The Cardinals avoided the shutout in the ninth inning, as they scored four runs on five hits. Geoff Klein started the rally with a leadoff double. Zach Foster recorded two outs via the strikeout before Tyler Rahmatulla drove in Klein with an RBI single. Gil followed with a single an infield single, scoring Rahmatulla on the errant throw by the third baseman. O'Neill added another hit to his total, tripling to left and driving in Gil. Starlin Rodriguez drove in O'Neill with an infield single to cut the lead to 7-4. However, the comeback would fall short, as Ramsey grounded out to end the game.
On the night, the Cardinals were led by Ronny Gil as he went 3-for-4, while Starlin Rodriguez added three hits and an RBI. Geoff Klein extended his hitting streak to eighth games with his double in the ninth.
The Cardinals return to action tomorrow night, as they resume their series with the Bradenton Marauders at 6:35 p.m. on 'Dollar Night.' Bradley Watson (0-3) will try and record his first win of the season.
For more information on the Palm Beach Cardinals, Class-A Advanced affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, please call (561) 775-1818 or visit www.palmbeachcardinals.com. For tickets and more information regarding Roger Dean Stadium, please visit www.rogerdeanstadium.com