Marauders Top Mussels, 2-1

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Despite early wildness and situational hitting struggles, the Marauders rebounded from an early deficit Tuesday night to beat the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, 2-1, at Hammond Stadium.

First pitch was delayed by two hours due to inclement weather, and the resulting 9 p.m. start time shortened the game’s length to seven innings.

The win was the third straight for the Marauders (20-11, 49-47), who moved into a two-way tie for first place in the West Division thanks to a Tampa Tarpons loss to Clearwater.

Bradenton collected four hits across their first three innings but were unable to plate a run against Mighty Mussels (12-17, 53-40) starter Pierson Ohl, who went on to pitch five scoreless innings, striking out seven and walking none.

Marauders starter Bubba Chandler tossed a perfect first inning but encountered trouble in the second, issuing walks to Dillon Tatum and Kala’i Rosario and hitting Rubel Cespedes with a pitch, loading the bases. Carlos Aguiar then popped out, and after Daniel Ozoria lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Tatum, Marauders catcher Wyatt Hendrie helped bail Chandler out of the inning by throwing out Cespedes on an attempted steal of second base, stopping the Fort Myers threat at one run.

Chandler would finish with a career-high four walks over three and one-third innings but limited the Mussels to one run. The right-hander left after a one-out fielding error in the fourth, but Darvin Garcia entered and saw Hendrie throw out his second baserunner of the game—this time Aguiar—at second base before inducing an inning-ending groundout.

Malik Barrington took over for Ohl to begin the sixth on the mound for the Mussels and began the inning by walking Tsung-Che Cheng and Jase Bowen. A wild pitch advanced both runners one base, and Juan Jerez lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right-center, tying the game at 1-1 and advancing Bowen to third. After a Sergio Campana strikeout, Hendrie lined a ball off the outstretched glove of Ozoria at third base, resulting in an infield single to drive home Bowen with the go-ahead run.

Working in tandem behind Chandler, left-hander Anthony Solometo finished the game with three scoreless innings for the Marauders. The southpaw allowed a leadoff single in the fifth but erased it on a double-play grounder, and after a perfect sixth, benefitted from another double-play grounder in a scoreless seventh that saw Solometo strand a two-out infield single, completing the victory.

The series continues Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. at Hammond Stadium. RHP Carlos Jimenez will start for the Marauders, while Fort Myers will start LHP Jaylen Nowlin.

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

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