Opening Day Comeback Falls Short

Box Score

WP: Thomas Harrington (1-0, 0.00)

LP: Alex McFarlane (0-1, 3.00)

SV: Julian Bosnic (1)

BRADENTON, FL - The Clearwater Threshers (0-1) shut down the Bradenton Marauders (1-0) after the fourth inning, but two eighth-inning runs weren’t enough in a 3-2 Opening Day loss at LECOM Ballpark on Friday evening. Bradenton and Clearwater continue the first series of 2023 on Saturday night.

Bradenton got the scoring started in the first inning, with two walks and a single leading to a bases-loaded walk to Deivis Nadal to give the Marauders a 1-0 lead. They loaded the bases again in the fourth, scoring on a walk and a wild pitch by Danny Wilkinson to extend their lead to 3-0.

The Threshers got on the board in the eighth, getting their first baserunner of the frame on a one-out walk to Otto Kemp. Cade Fergus sent him home with a hard-hit double off the left-field wall to put Clearwater on the board. Erick Brito singled off Owen Kellington to bring the tying run to the plate. Justin Crawford game up and hit a sharp grounder to third, Brito was forced out at second, but Jesus Castillo made an errant throw to first attempting to turn the double play. Fergus scored and Crawford moved to second base with the score at 3-2.

After Bryan Rincon grounded out to end the inning, the Threshers began another rally in the ninth with a leadoff single by Caleb Ricketts. Chad Castillo walked to put the go-ahead run on first, but Marauders closer Julian Bosnic struck out the final two batters to seal Clearwater’s fate with a 3-2 loss.

McFarlane (0-1) took the loss in 3.0 innings of work, allowing one run on three hits and four walks with four strikeouts. Wilkinson allowed two runs in 1.0 inning, walking three and striking out one in his professional debut. Jean Cabrera threw 3.0 scoreless frames, allowing three hits and striking out two. Alex Rao walked and struck out one in 1.0 inning.

Notes:

Kemp recorded the first hit and first run of the season for the Threshers... McFarlane has struck out at least three batters in all four of his pro starts... Ricketts began each of his two pro seasons with a multi-hit game... He was 2-4 in Bradenton on Friday... The Threshers have now lost five-straight Opening Day games dating back to 2018... Wilkinson and Rincones Jr. each made their professional debuts on Friday night... Clearwater and Bradenton resume the opening series on Saturday, April 8th at LECOM Ballpark... First pitch is at 6:30 PM... You can purchase tickets for the Threshers season, with the Home Opener on Tuesday, April 11th, at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457…The Box Office at BayCare Ballpark is also open daily to purchase Threshers tickets…The hours are 10 AM-5 PM Monday through Friday and 10 AM-3 PM on Saturdays.