Sweep City: Marauders Clean up in Lakeland
Published on July 10, 2022 under Florida State League (FSL)
Bradenton Marauders News Release
LAKELAND, Fla. - The Marauders completed a series sweep of the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Sunday afternoon with a 7-6 win at Publix Field.
The sweep was the first of the season for the Marauders (10-5, 39-41) and extended the team's win streak to seven games.
Rodolfo Nolasco paved the way for Bradenton offensively with a three-run homer in the third inning that opened the afternoon's scoring. The home run gave Nolasco a longball in his fourth consecutive game and was his team-leading tenth of the season. The performance brought Nolasco's totals at Publix Field to six home runs and 15 RBI in 12 games.
After the three-run shot, the two teams traded blows. Marauders starter Luis Peralta retired his first six batters of the afternoon, including striking out the side in the second, but labored in the third. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for the Flying Tigers (6-8, 38-42) with one out, and Izaac Pacheco stepped to the plate and bounced a groundball to second baseman Tsung-Che Cheng, whose throw to second base on an attempted force play was late, allowing a run to score. But with the lead dwindled to 3-1, Carlos Lomeli took over in relief of Peralta and escaped the bases-loaded jam with a popout and a strikeout.
The Marauders re-extended their lead in the fourth against Lakeland starter Carlos Pena, as Juan Jerez slugged a solo homer to left field and Cheng later plated a run on a groundout for a 5-1 lead.
Lomeli returned to the mound in the bottom of the fifth, having held the Tigers scoreless over an inning and two-thirds. But the bottom of the fifth brought an Alvaro Gonzalez single and a Manuel Sequera ground-rule double to set the stage for Roberto Campos, who crushed a three-run homer to left field, trimming Bradenton's lead to 5-4.
Bradenton re-upped its lead in the seventh, 7-4, against Flying Tigers reliever Tyler Mattison, getting a Jase Bowen RBI-groundout and a Maikol Escotto RBI-infield single.
Cristian Charle tossed a scoreless seventh for the Marauders, but ran into trouble upon returning for the eighth. Justice Bigbie doubled and soon scored on a sacrifice fly to center field, narrowly beating a strong throw home on the fly by center fielder Jasiah Dixon. The score stood at 7-5 in Bradenton's favor after eight innings.
Left-hander Yoelvis Reyes pitched the ninth for the Marauders and started strong, striking out Cristian Santana and getting Pacheco to ground out. But Sequera lined a two-out double to left field and promptly score on a single by Campos, bringing Lakeland within one run and bringing Bigbie to the batter's box, representing the winning run. Bigbie, however, bounced a hard grounder directly back to Reyes, who threw to first base to end the game.
The Marauders return home to LECOM Park on Tuesday to open a six-game series against the Jupiter Hammerheads, Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
For more information about the Bradenton Marauders, please call (941) 747-3031, visit BradentonMarauders.com.
Florida State League Stories from July 10, 2022
- Daytona and St. Lucie Split Sunday Doubleheader - Daytona Tortugas
- Mets, Tortugas Split Doubleheader on Sunday - St. Lucie Mets
- Sweep City: Marauders Clean up in Lakeland - Bradenton Marauders
- Threshers Rally to Knock off Blue Jays 5-3 in Series Finale - Clearwater Threshers
- Hammerheads Earn Series Win over Cardinals - Jupiter Hammerheads
- Cheng's Mad Dash Sparks Extra-Inning Victory - Bradenton Marauders
- Cheng's Mad Dash Sparks Extra-Inning Victory - Bradenton Marauders
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
