Stellar Marauders Pitching Tops Dunedin 4-0
Five Bradenton Marauders pitchers combined for nine shutout innings as they pushed past the Dunedin Blue Jays 4-0 on Thursday night at LECOM Park.
The win earned Bradenton their second straight and fifth shutout victory of the year. However, with Clearwater’s win over Tampa tonight, the Marauders have been eliminated from postseason contention.
Bradenton jump started their offense right out of the gate when Edward Florentinowalked and Jhonny Severino was hit by a pitch to place runners at first and second.
With one out, Ethan Lege rolled an RBI single to right to push the Marauders ahead 1-0. Lege has now reached base safely in 16 consecutive games, tying him with Severino (6/24-7/12) for the longest such streak by a Marauders hitter this season.
On the play, Severino advanced to third, allowing him to later score on a wild pitch to make it 2-0. Josh Tate followed with a sacrifice fly to right to push the lead to three runs.
Bradenton tacked on another insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Edward Florentino sent a sacrifice fly to left, capping scoring at 4-0.
On the bump, Pirates No. 12 prospect Levi Sterling was strong in his Single-A debut, tossing 2.1 shutout innings in relief while punching out four hitters.
Adolfo Oviedo followed with 3.2 scoreless frames to earn his second win of the campaign.
Gavin Adams (Single-A debut) and Noah Takacs teamed up for the final six outs to secure the win.
With the victory, Bradenton moved to 59-68 overall, and 29-32 in the second half. Dunedin fell to 59-65 overall and 25-34 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. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Marauders Broadcast Network.