Campana's Career Night Propels Marauders to Win

BRADENTON, Fla. — A four-hit game by Sergio Campana helped support five scoreless innings by Po-Yu Chen Friday night for the Marauders, who grabbed a 5-3 win over the Tampa Tarpons at LECOM Park.

Chen allowed just one baserunner across his five innings, a leadoff single in the fourth by Tampa’s Alexander Vargas, who was left stranded.

Sergio Campana led Bradenton with four hits in the game, matching his career-high. The 20-year-old center fielder, activated off the development list prior to the game, reached on an infield single in the second inning and promptly scored the game’s first run on a Wyatt Hendrie triple to right field. Campana added a solo home run to left in the fourth inning, then singled in each of his final two at-bats in the sixth and eighth innings.

The Marauders jumped on Tarpons starter Richard Fitts for four runs on eight hits over the right-hander’s six innings. Bradenton built its lead to 4-0 in the fifth on consecutive RBI-singles by Tsung-Che Cheng and Jase Bowen. Fitts matched his career-high with eight strikeouts, but his eight hits allowed were a new career-high.

Right-hander Johan Montero took over for Chen to begin the sixth inning and ran into trouble. Raimfer Salinas hit a leadoff double and scored on a Vargas single, and after a walk by Jasson Dominguez, Antonio Gomez hit a two-run double to right-center to bring Tampa within one run, 4-3. Montero recovered, however, striking out Marcos Cabrera to strand the tying run at second base.

Mitchell Miller kept the Tarpons in check by pitching a scoreless seventh, but found himself in a jam in the eighth. The left-hander allowed a Luis Santos infield-single, and after a strikeout, issued back-to-back walks to Dominguez and Anthony Garcia, loading the bases. But right-hander Yunior Thibo bailed the Marauders out of the jam, getting Gomez to fly out to right field and watching as right fielder Rodolfo Nolasco threw home on the fly to nab Santos attempting to score, thus ending the inning and keeping Bradenton’s one-run lead intact.

Heads-up baserunning gave the Marauders drove in an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Deivis Nadal drew a one-out walk from reliver Jack Neely, and with two out, took third on a soft single to left-center by Campana. Noticing a brief lapse in attention by Tampa’s defense after retrieving the batted ball, Nadal broke for home and beat a hurried throw home with a headfirst slide, extending the Marauders’ lead to 5-3.

Thibo retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out two and ending a Marauders three-game losing streak.

The series continues Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at LECOM Park. RHP Carlos Jimenez will start for the Marauders, while RHP Chandler Champlain will start for Tampa.

For more information about the Bradenton Marauders, please call (941) 747-3031, visit BradentonMarauders.com, or email [email protected].

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