PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (June 10, 2019) - Ronaldo Hernandez delivered the walk-off hit Monday, completing a miraculous Charlotte Stone Crabs' comeback that stunned the Bradenton Marauders 7-6 at Charlotte Sports Park.Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Hernandez was hit by a pitch by Bradenton (35-28) reliever Logan Stoelke
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (June 10, 2019) - Ronaldo Hernandez delivered the walk-off hit Monday, completing a miraculous Charlotte Stone Crabs' comeback that stunned the Bradenton Marauders 7-6 at Charlotte Sports Park.
Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Hernandez was hit by a pitch by Bradenton (35-28) reliever Logan Stoelke (1-2). After a Carl Chester single, Stone Crabs (33-30) left fielder Garrett Whitley drew a walk to load the bases. Russ Olive followed with an RBI single to center to make it 6-1. Jake Palomaki then worked out a walk to force in a run and make it 6-2. That led to a Stoelke wild pitch, while allowed Whitley to scamper home and make it 6-3.
With two on and one out, shortstop Taylor Walls pulled a double down the right field line, plating two to make it 6-5 and put the tying run at second. After a pitching change, Thomas Milone struck out to bring the Stone Crabs down to their final out. With two strikes, Jim Haley cranked an RBI double down the left field line to score Walls and tie the game. Three pitches later, Hernandez capped the stunning rally with a long drive to the wall in center to chase home Haley and give Charlotte a 7-6 victory.
Crabs right-hander Chandler Raiden (2-2) was credited with the win. He worked a scoreless top of the ninth after the three pitchers before him all allowed runs. Bradenton dominated the first eight innings of Monday's game, out-hitting the Stone Crabs 9-2 over the first six innings. The Marauders built a 6-0 lead on a Dylan Busby two-run home run in the second, before adding runs in three consecutive innings late.
The Stone Crabs will have a chance to eliminate the Marauders from contention for a first half title at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Joe Ryan (3-2, 2.33) makes the start for Charlotte, against Nick Economos (1-2, 1.89) of Bradenton. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.
