Marauders Blast Three Home Runs En Route to 7-3 Victory

BRADENTON, FL — The Bradenton Marauders collected a hit in seven innings, while crushing three home runs to help down the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 7-3 on Tuesday night at LECOM Park.

Bradenton jumped ahead early with two runs in the first inning against Major League rehabber Josh Winder (0-1). Minor League rehabber Joshua Palacios notched a one-out double before Garret Forrester singled him in to make it 1-0 Bradenton. The next batter, Esmerlyn Valdez, doubled down the left field line to double the Marauders advantage to 2-0.

Forrester then extended the Bradenton lead to 3-0 with a solo-home run to left field. It was Forrester’s first professional home run and he would finish the night 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, a walk, and three runs.

After Yoldin De La Paz (3-0) tossed two scoreless innings, Fort Myers broke through against Minor League rehabber Elijah Birdsong. Jose Rodriguez legged out a two-out infield single to bring up Poncho Ruiz, who doubled off the wall in right-center field to score Rodriguez and cut the lead to 3-1.

Bradenton answered with a run in the sixth on a Kalae Harrison solo-home run down the right field line, his first of the season. The Marauders scored their final runs of the night on a three-run blast from Shalin Polanco in the seventh to extend their lead to 7-1. The home run came after a two-out error allowed Valdez to reach and bring up Polanco.

With the six-run lead, Fort Myers ended up having the tying run up at the plate in the eighth inning against Landon Tomkins. Brandon Winokur laced a one-out double to bring up Rodriguez who reached on an error. During the defensive miscue, Winokur scored to cut the lead down to 7-2. Once Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch, the bases were loaded with two-outs for Omari Daniel who lined a ball to first base. Valdez dove behind the back to take away a base hit and preserve the Marauders lead at 7-3.

Hunter Furtado retired the side in order in the ninth to pick up the series-opening victory. In the no-decision, Marauders starter Carlos Jimenez struck out a season-high seven in three-scoreless innings.

The three longballs as a team are tied for their season-high, hitting three on 4/12 at Lakeland.

The Marauders and Mighty Mussels continue their six-game series on Wednesday night at LECOM Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 6:10 p.m. on the Marauders Broadcast Network. Bradenton will send RHP Hung-Leng Chang (0-0, 0.71) to the hill while Fort Myers turns to LHP Cesar Lares (0-1, 1.98).