Marauders Stand Strong to Scorch Mets, 8-3

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Marauders rapped out 14 hits and the pitching staff kept St. Lucie bats in check in an 8-3 win on Friday night at Clover Park.

The win brought the Marauders (43-26) even with the Mets (37-33) in the series, two games apiece. Eight of the nine men in the Marauders lineup recorded a hit, and three players—Maikol Escotto, Jack Herman, and Eli Wilson—collected three hits each.

Both Bradenton’s Logan Hofmann and St. Lucie’s Franklin Parra (3-3) pitched two scoreless innings to begin the game, but the Marauders opened the scoring in the third. Back-to-back singles by Escotto and Endy Rodriguez—the latter of whom extended his on-base streak to 19 games—opened the inning, and Parra balked the runners to second and third. Herman plated both men with a double to center field, then scored two batters later on a two-base hit by Wilson, giving the Marauders a 3-0 lead.

Hofmann allowed a solo homer to Mets third baseman Jose Peroza in the fourth, closing Bradenton’s lead to two runs. It would be the only run against Hofmann, who finished after four innings with four strikeouts and just two hits allowed.

Both teams added one run in the fifth, as Wilson laced an RBI-single off Parra, but St. Lucie’s Jose Colina hit a solo homer in the bottom half off right-hander Drake Fellows (1-0), making his Marauders debut in relief. Fellows went on to toss a scoreless sixth, and with one out in the seventh, he gave way to fellow righty Wandi Montout, who recorded a strikeout and a groundout. The score remained 4-2 Bradenton through seven innings.

After an approximately 50-minute lightning delay at the close of the seventh inning, Wilson led off the eighth with a walk off reliever Colin Holderman. While the right-hander rebounded to strike out the next two Marauders hitters, he uncorked two wild pitches, allowing Wilson to take third base. Francisco Acuna drew another walk, and Daniel Rivero and Escotto followed with back-to-back RBI-singles to stretch Bradenton’s lead to 6-2.

In the top of the ninth, Dariel Lopez singled and scored on a double by Wilson—his second of the game—and Jase Bowen reached on a throwing error by shortstop Anthony Walters that allowed Wilson to score easily, enabling the Marauders to jump further ahead, 8-2.

Marauders right-hander Oliver Mateo, who had escaped a bases-loaded jam unscathed in the bottom of the eighth, allowed a two-out RBI-single in the ninth but finished the game by getting Peroza to line out to right field.

The series continues Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m. at Clover Park. RHP Adrian Florencio will start for the Marauders against RHP David Griffin for the Mets.

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

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