Big Eighth Inning Paces Marauders Past Tigers 9-3

Big Eighth Inning Paces Marauders Past Tigers 9-3

Lakeland, Fla. – The Bradenton Marauders exploded for five runs in the top of the eighth, leading them to a 9-3 win over the Lakeland Flying Tigers Saturday night at Publix Field.

Holding onto a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth, Ethan Lege and Eddy Rodriguez led off with singles to place runners at first and second. The next hitter was Joel Mendez who grounded a single to right to score Lege and extend the lead to two runs.

Later in the frame, Carlos Caro reached on an error, Konnor Griffin rolled an RBI single to right, and Jhonny Severino sent a two-run double to the right-field corner to cap scoring at 9-3.

While the late offensive production broke the game open, Bradenton also struck first in the top of the second when Joel Mendez blasted a two-run shot to left that gave the Marauders a 2-0 lead. The longball marked his first since joining the Pirates organization this past offseason.

After Lakeland tacked on a run in each of the second and third innings to tie the game at 2-2, Bradenton grabbed the lead back in the top of the fifth when Caro singled ahead of Griffin, who belted a two-run homer down the left-field line that pushed the Marauders to a 4-2 advantage.

Griffin has now homered in back-to-back nights and leads Bradenton with four on the season.

Lakeland added a run in the bottom of the seventh on a wild pitch to make it a one-run game before Bradenton burst the game open with five runs in the eighth.

With the win, Bradenton moved to 7-13 on the season, while Lakeland fell to 10-10. The Marauders will return the Publix Field on Saturday as they meet the Tigers for the series finale, eyeing the series split. First pitch is slated for 12:00 p.m. with coverage beginning at 11:45 a.m. on the Marauders Broadcast Network.