Doubleheader Sweep Sees Marauders Win Fifth Straight

Bradenton, Fla.--- The Marauders (37-22, 72-52) and the Palm Beach Cardinals (25-32, 62-6-) for the final two games game of a five-game series on a beautiful and breezy Sunday afternoon on the corner of 9th and 17th.

Bradenton's starter in game one, Dominic Perachi, tossed four innings while giving up one earned run off of two hits.

The Marauders' offense was awake in the early morning contest as they spring to life to score two runs in the second inning thanks to a solo home run from Omar Alfonzo and an RBI single from Javier Rivas to put the good guys up 2-0.

In the top of the fourth, the Cardinals managed to grab their lone run of the game via a solo home run off the bat of cleanup man William Sullivan to make it a 2-1 game.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Charles McAdoo singled for the Marauders to bring a run into the score, doubling the lead as the game would travel into the 7th and final inning with the Young Bucs up 3-1.

After getting a pair of K's to start the seventh, Brandan Bidois walked two to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Bidois was asked to give way to Elijah Birdsong, who forced a weak ground out to secure his 8th save of the season and the 3-1 win for Bradenton.

In game two of the Twin Bill, Drake Fellows got the start for Bradenton and made it through 0.2 IP while allowing no runs in his opening appearance.

Bradenton took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. With men at the corners and one away, the Cardinals right-hander Hancel Rincon flung a pickoff throw to first that ended up bouncing away from the first baseman Sullivan, allowing Alfonzo to jog 90 feet home to score and put the home team up 1-0.

In the third, the Marauders added two more runs off of an RBI double from Mitch Jebb and a fielder-choice play to give the men from the Friendly City a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the fourth, the Cards scored three runs to tie the game up a 3-3 with four innings to go in the final contest of the series.

Bradenton snatched the lead back in the bottom of the fifth. Still, the 4-3 advantage was short-lived as the Cardinals tied the game up in the top of the sixth to send the game to the final inning and eventually extras at 4-4.

In the top of the eighth and first extra inning, the Cardinals laid down a bunt to move the go-ahead run to third with one out in the frame. Marauders reliever Daniel Carrion managed to force a weak flyout before emphatically punching out Tre Richardson to send the game to the bottom of the eighth with the Marauders a base hit away from the win.

The Marauders automatic runner Mitch Jebb was promptly moved to third thanks to a productive groundout off the bat of Charles McAdoo. With two outs, Deivis Nadal was intentionally walked to put men at the corners to bring Geovanny Planchart to the plate with a chance to win it.

Considering the occasion, there was no better person and player than Planchart (known to his teammates as Planchy) to have the game on his shoulders. The hard-working and defensively sound catcher posted a .370 plus batting average this season with two outs and a runner in scoring position and is one of the final members for the opening day roster that is still an everyday player for the Marauders.

Planchart put together an almighty battle at the plate as he fought to a 2-2 offering; with the weight of a city's playoff dreams on his shoulders, "Planchy" delivered.

The catcher smashed a ball on a line straight up the middle of the diamond into centerfield to bring Jebb into the score, finishing the game in a dramatic 5-4 walk-off fashion.

With six games to go in the regular season, the Marauders sit 1.5 games back of the Lakeland Tigers and the final playoff spot in the West.

The season is again on the line Tuesday night at 7:00, with Hung Leng Chang expected to start for Bradenton.