Marauders Walk it Off on Beach Birds

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Marauders played their third extra-inning game of their past five games Wednesday afternoon at LECOM Park, defeating the Palm Beach Cardinals, 4-3, in ten innings.

With none out and the score tied, 3-3, in the bottom of the tenth, Tsung-Che Cheng began the inning on second base as Bradenton’s extra-inning runner. Cheng took third base on a wild pitch by Andrew Marrero, and after Sergio Campana struck out, Juan Jerez lifted a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right-center, plating Cheng easily for the winning run.

The win was the fourth in a five-game span for the Marauders (24-14, 53-50), who are now 7-0 in extra-inning games this season. The victory puts Bradenton a half-game in front of the Tampa Tarpons for first place in the FSL West, albeit with Tampa still scheduled to play later in the day.

Bradenton plated the game’s first run in the bottom of the third inning on a Cheng RBI-single to center field off Palm Beach (23-15, 53-49) starter Tink Hence, scoring Jasiah Dixon, who had doubled. Hence would finish after three innings, striking out five.

Carlos Jimenez held the Cardinals scoreless through four innings, working around one baserunner in each inning. But in the fifth, Bradenton’s 1-0 lead vanished when Jimenez allowed a game-tying RBI-double to Leonardo Bernal and a go-ahead sacrifice fly to Darlin Moquete. Chris Rotondo followed with a two-out single, then broke early from first base as Nathan Church hit a soft grounder along the first-base line. Jimenez fielded the ball and had ample time to retire Church, but underthrew a bouncer to Jerez at first base, with the resulting throwing error scoring Rotondo for a 3-1 Cardinals lead. Johan Montero then entered in relief and induced an inning-ending flyout.

The Marauders missed a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the fifth, when Deivis Nadal tripled and was picked off at third base by catcher Bernal on a pitch in the dirt, and Bradenton was retired in order in the sixth. But in the seventh, the Marauders manufactured a comeback against the Palm Beach bullpen. Nadal drew a one-out walk from Roy Garcia and Luis Hernandez was hit by a pitch, and Jasiah Dixon followed with a groundball single to center, scoring Nadal. Right-hander Gustavo Rodriguez took over for Garcia and allowed a groundball single to right field by Cheng, tying the score at 3-3 before a lineout and a strikeout ended the inning, stranding runners on second and third base.

Wilkin Ramos dodged around a pair of singles in a scoreless ninth for Bradenton, then tossed a scoreless tenth with the help of shortstop Maikol Escotto, who erased extra-inning runner Rotondo at third base when the latter attempted to advance on an infield grounder with none out.

Cheng led Marauders hitters with three hits and two RBI in the game, while Montero, Mitchell Miller, and Ramos combined for 5.1 innings of scoreless relief.

The series continues Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at LECOM Park. LHP Luis Peralta will start for the Marauders, while LHP Alfredo Ruiz will start for Palm Beach.

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

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