Stone Crabs fall 5-1 in opener with Bradenton

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (May 4, 2018) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs managed just four hits Friday, falling to the Bradenton Marauders 5-1 at Charlotte Sports Park.
Marauders (17-11) starter James Marvel (2-2) twirled seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits while striking out three.
Bradenton jumped in front 1-0 on a pair of singles in the first before Stone Crabs (13-15) center fielder Josh Lowe singled to right with one out in the bottom of the inning. After a walk moved him to second with two outs, David Rodríguez lined a single up the middle to tie the game at one.
With the game tied in the top of the third, Bradenton left fielder Casey Hughston walked. Tyler Gaffney then doubled to left center to bring home Hughston, giving the Marauders a 2-1 lead. Adrian Valerio then singled to center before the ball rolled past Lowe, allowing Gaffney to score and make it 3-1.
Stone Crabs lefty Brock Burke (1-3) worked five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits over five innings to take the loss.
The Marauders added two more runs in the sixth before their bullpen turned in two perfect innings to solidify the victory.
The Stone Crabs will look to even the series with Bradenton at 6:05 p.m. on Saturday. Brandon Lawson (0-3, 6.56) makes the start for Charlotte against Oddy Nunez (1-0, 1.90) of the Marauders. Coverage starts at 5:50 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.