Tampa Explode for 15 Runs in Blowout Victory

The Marauders (21-10, 56-40) and the Tampa Tarpons (16-15, 47-50) met for the opening contest of a six-game series at LECOM Park on a cool and calm Tuesday night in the Friendly City. The game was square through the early going, but Tampa quickly lit up the scoreboard, blasting balls to all parts of the yard on the way to a very comfortable 15-6 win.

Marauders stater Hung-Leng Chang made his second start at the Single-A level and tossed 4.2 innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits with four walks mixed in between. Chang received his first loss of the year on the night.

Tampa snatched an early lead in the first, thanks to a solo home run from Omar Martinez. Still, the Marauders quickly responded, with Rodolfo Nolasco collecting an RBI single in the home half of the opening inning to put the game on level footing.

The Tarpons' offense laid in wait until the fourth inning, where they would then explode for 14 runs in the back two-thirds of the ballgame. Tampa grabbed a run in the fourth, five in the fifth, and another tally in the sixth to put the visitor's total at eight.

Bradenton put on a solid offensive showing despite a high amount of men left on base (14) and a RISP batting line of 2-11 at the plate. Debut performances from Garret Forrester and Charles McAdoo accounted for a combined 2-4 line at the plate with six walks. The two men that reached a combined eight times were never brought home to score.

The game rolled into the eighth inning with the Marauders trailing only 8-4, but Tampa had an encore performance that was on par with the Bronx Bombers as they shelled out seven runs in the final two innings as they catapulted themselves to an emphatic 15-6 win to open up the series on the front foot.

Game two is set for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, with Luis Peralta on the mound for Bradenton.