Five-Run Sixth Lifts Bradenton to Win in Series Finale
BRADENTON, FL — Bradenton was no-hit for the first five innings before erupting for five runs I the sixth after an hour and 48-minute rain delay as the Marauders defeated the Lakeland Flying Tigers 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at LECOM Park. Bradenton and Lakeland split the six-game series. Pittsburgh Pirates
BRADENTON, FL — Bradenton was no-hit for the first five innings before erupting for five runs I the sixth after an hour and 48-minute rain delay as the Marauders defeated the Lakeland Flying Tigers 6-3 on Sunday afternoon at LECOM Park. Bradenton and Lakeland split the six-game series.
Pittsburgh Pirates No. 10 prospect Mike Burrows started the ballgame for Bradenton and retired the first five batters until back-to-back walks to Archer Brookman and David Smith placed two runners on base in the second. Daneurys De La Cruz singled to right field to plate the game’s first run and give Lakeland a 1-0 lead. That marked the end of the day for Burrows who allowed just one run on one hit in 1.2 innings.
Andrew Sears started the ballgame for Lakeland and issued a pair of walks in the first two innings. In the first, the southpaw threw eight straight balls to start the day before retiring the next three hitters.
After Peyton Stumbo induced a groundout to start the fifth inning, the ballgame entered a rain delay at 1:09 pm. The ballgame resumed at 3:00 pm.
Out of the delay, Max Clark worked a two-out walk and scored on an RBI double from Eduardo Valencia against Garrett McMillan (3-2) to push the Lakeland lead to 2-0.
After being no-hit for five-plus innings, Bradenton’s offense exploded in the sixth against Carlos Lequerica (2-1). Keiner Delgado and Eddy Rodriguez tallied singles to start the frame. A double from Esmerlyn Valdez scored a run with an Eli Wilson sacrifice fly tying the game up at two. Enmanuel Terrero then hit a two-out fly ball to right field that was dropped which allowed Valdez to score and give Bradenton their first lead at 3-2. The next batter, Javier Rivas, smacked his sixth home run of the season to close out a five-run frame. The six home runs is a new career-high for Rivas.
Javier Rivas continues to RAKE! His two-run home run closes out a five-run frame. pic.twitter.com/6nuLIGlc4S
— Bradenton Marauders (@The_Marauders) June 23, 2024
In the seventh, Valdez and Omar Alfonzo collected back-to-back singles with Terrero plating another with an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-2.
In the eighth, after Tyler Kennedy walked the first two batters, Magdiel Cotto (SV,5) entered and secured the final two outs in a scoreless frame. De La Cruz led off the ninth with a home run but Cotto retired the next three batters in order to end the ballgame.
After an off day on Monday, Bradenton hits the road to start a six-game series against the Clearwater Threshers at BayCare Ballpark. First pitch for Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 6:10 p.m. on the Marauders Broadcast Network.