Brevard County 10, Bradenton 7

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BRADENTON – The Bradenton Marauders (30-30) were beaten 10-7 in an offensive showdown with the Brevard County Manatees (31-28) on Thursday night at Space Coast Stadium. Josh Bell went 5-for-5 at the plate with a double and two RBI for the Marauders, but 4-for-4 games by Brevard County infielders Orlando Arcia and Yadiel Rivera powered the Manatees to victory.

The teams traded runs over the early innings. The Marauders plated three runs in the first with Bell singling home one and Max Moroff driving in two with a double. Brevard County scored once but also left two in scoring position in the first, allowing Bradenton to take a 5-1 lead with two more runs in the top of the second. The Manatees answered with another run in the bottom half of the inning, leaving the score 5-2 Marauders through two.

The Manatees plated two runs with two outs in the fourth to get within 5-4. Manatees starter Damien Magnifico was lifted after walking the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, and Jacob Stallings drove in two of his runners with a two-RBI single off Martin Viramontes to give Bradenton a 7-4 advantage.

Brevard County scored in every innings from the fourth through the eighth, chasing Orlando Castro in the fifth. The Manatees tied the game against Ryan Hafner (L, 1-2) in the sixth, and plated the go-ahead runs with a two-run eighth. Jeff Inman made his season debut in the eighth and allowed the final Manatees run.

Stephen Peterson (W, 1-3) pitched two scoreless innings for the Manatees to earn the win. Mark Williams pitched the ninth for his third save.

Walker Gourley extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the second inning for Bradenton.

The third game of the series is Friday night at 6:35 p.m. Jason Creasy will be on the mound for the Marauders against Brevard County’s Chad Pierce. The game will be broadcast online on www.BradentonMarauders.com.

The box score for Thursday's game can be seen here; the Play-by-Play review can be viewed here.