Brannigan Powers Marauders to Win 

*Bradenton, Fla.--- *The Marauders (29-26) and the Blue Jays (27-28) met for game four of a six-game series at LECOM Park on Friday evening for Faith and Family Night at the ballpark. After falling behind by a narrow margin early in the contest, the Marauders roared back in the later innings to take a 6-4 win sending the packed house home happy.

The top of the first inning saw the Blue Jays pick up where they left off the previous night, forcing a run in on a Roque Salinas RBI single to give the visitors an early 1-0 advantage.

Alessandro Ercolani started for Bradenton and would post a career-high nine strikeouts across 4.1 IP while allowing two runs without earning a decision for his fine effort on the mound.

Dunedin tallied another in the top fourth when Ryan McCarty hit an opposite-field missile with just enough juice to clear the wall doubling the Jay's lead at a 2-0 mark.

Bradenton's offense was slow to get going, and they could boast one lone hit through the first four innings, a Jack Brannigan single into centerfield, but their fortunes would turn quickly as the game went to the home half of the sixth inning.

Geovanny Planchart and Enmanuel Terrero both singled to lead off the frame, with Planchart coming around to score when Termarr Johnson smoked a ground ball through the legs of the Dunedin second baseman to tighten the contest at 2-1

The Marauders found some Friday night magic in the seventh inning when they railed with two down. Castillo and Planchart stood at the corners when Jack Brannigan, one of the hottest hitters in the Florida State League, stepped to the dish.

Brannigan entered the at-bat, hitting nearly .400 in the last five games; in that time, he collected 8 RBI and four home runs… he wasn't content with only four home runs. After working the count to 2-1, Brannigan punished a middle fastball deep to centerfield. The ball cleared the wall to send the packed house into a frenzy while giving the Marauders a 5-2 lead.

The Young Bucs got an insurance run in the home half of the eighth when Francisco Acuna chalked up his first RBI of the 2023 campaign thanks to a deep sacrifice fly to give the hometown boys a 6-2 lead heading to the final frame.

After Dunedin traded a pair of outs for a couple of runs in the visiting half of the ninth, they brought the tying run to the plate, but Elijah Birdsong was there to slam the door. After punching out a pair in the inning, he forced a groundout to second that was thrown in time to start the celebration at LECOM Park.

With the 6-4 victory on Friday, the Marauders will look to close out the homestand with a pair of weekend wins.