Zeigler and Aquino Shine in Single-A Debuts, Marauders Fall 5-0
Palm Beach, Fla. – After falling to an early deficit, the Bradenton Marauders’ bats were halted by dominant pitching in their 5-0 loss to the Palm Beach Cardinals on Tuesday night.
The Cardinals jumped in front early in the bottom of the first when they loaded the bases on a triple and two walks. With two outs, Jalin Flores rolled a soft grounder to short that forced a late-throw to second. On the play every runner to advanced a station including Rainiel Rodriguez who scored the game’s first run.
With Palm Beach still leading 1-0, they rallied again in the bottom of the second after they placed runners at first and second on a single and hit batter. With one out, Jonathan Medja grounded an RBI single to right that extended their lead to 2-0. The next hitter was Rodriguez who lined an RBI double to left that made it 3-0 Cardinals.
They added on two more runs on two RBI ground outs, capping scoring at 5-0.
Palm Beach starter Leonel Sequera was spectacular, tossing six shutout innings while surrendering just one hit.
On the Marauders side, relievers Draven Zeigler and Cesar Aquino made their Single-A debuts. Zeigler, an undrafted free agent who played his college ball at LSU Shreveport, tossed a scoreless frame in the sixth, capping his professional debut.
Aquino, transferred to Single-A Bradenton on Tuesday from the Florida Complex League, recorded two shutout frames while punching out two hitters as well.
With the loss, Bradenton fell to 50-59 overall, and 20-23 in the second half. Palm Beach moved to 53-54 overall and 21-21 in the second half. The two return to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Wednesday night with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Marauders Broadcast Network.