Threshers fall in extras 8-5
Despite committing the five early errors, the Threshers rallied to tie the game 4-4 before yielding four runs in the top of the 11th to the visitors. With the loss, the team drops to 14-10 in the second half of the season.
Starting pitcher Perci Garner lasted five innings for the Threshers on a steamy afternoon at the ballpark, as he allowed three unearned runs on six hits. He committed two errors in the field to help the visitors score three runs in the top of the third inning.
The Threshers notched a run in the second, third, and fourth, but were unable to break open a big inning off Mauraders righty Casey Sadler. Jim Murphy doubled and scored on a sac fly by Anthony Hewitt in the second, Carlos Alonso lined an RBI single in the third, and Zach Collier doubled and scored on a single by Miguel Alvarez in the bottom of the fourth.
Bradenton capitalized on another pair of Thresher errors to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth. Reliever Kyle Simon missed a catch on a grounder to Murphy at first, allowing Bradenton's Benji Gonzalez to reach safely. Gonzalez later scored from third when Clearwater catcher John Hill threw away a ball trying to nab a base-stealer at second.
The Threshers knotted things up 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth, when Murphy's RBI double plated Albert Cartwright.
The scoreless tie was finally broken in the top of the eleventh, as the Marauders used a hit, four walks, and a hit-by-pitch to plate four runs off Threshers reliever Mike Nesseth. The Threshers came up with one run in the bottom of the inning, but were unable to muster any more, losing by the final of 8-5.
Murphy finished 3 for 5 with three doubles on the day. He was the only the Thresher to record more than one hit for the afternoon.
These two teams will square off again on Monday night at 7:00pm.
Shark Bites:
The Threshers took 4 of 5 games from Fort Myers last week despite being out-hit 45-38 in the series... 2011 Thresher Jiwan James made an extremely acrobatic catch in a Reading game on Saturday night which was featured on ESPN's Top 10 plays... Only two teams have drawn more intentional walks than the Threshers, and only two teams have issued more intentional walks.