De Los Santos Homers, Marauders Fall 5-3

Bradenton, Fla. – Despite sending the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the Bradenton Marauders fell 5-3 to the St. Lucie Mets at LECOM Park on Thursday night.

Marauders starter Victor Cabreja was superb, tossing 5.2 shutout innings while limiting St. Lucie to just four hits.

Bradenton jumped on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Yordany De Los Santos and Jhonny Severino blasted two solo shots to put the Marauders up 2-0.

St. Lucie responded in the top of the seventh with a three-run blast by Willy Fanas that pushed the Mets in front 3-2.

After St. Lucie tacked on two more in the top of the eighth, the Marauders rallied in the bottom of the same frame when Andrew Patrick ripped an RBI single to right.

While the Marauders rallied in the bottom of the ninth, their comeback bid fell short as Wilson Lopez recorded the final out to secure the 5-3 St. Lucie victory.

With the loss, Bradenton fell to 40-43 and 10-7 in the second half. St. Lucie moved to 45-37 and 11-6 in the second half. The two return to LECOM Park on Friday for game four of the series, with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. Pre-game coverages begins at 6:15 p.m. on MiLB.TV and the Marauders Broadcast Network.