BRADENTON -- The Marauders (25-36) dispatched Fort Myers (41-19) 8-6 on Sunday afternoon at McKechnie Field to finish the first half of the season with a winning record at home. The Marauders posted a 17-16 record at McKechnie Field in the first half.
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The Marauders led throughout, tallying first in the second inning. Dan Gamache doubled and came around to score on a two-out single by Jacob Stallings for a 1-0 lead.
Adrian Sampson started and pitched six strong innings, but a pair of Fort Myers homers denied him his third win. Eddie Rosario hit a solo home run to tie the game 1-1 in the fourth. The Marauders went back on top 3-1 with one run in the fourth and fifth, but Miguel Sano knotted the score with a two-out- two-run bomb in the sixth.
Taylor Rogers started and went five innings for the Miracle, but did not factor in the decision. Manuel Soliman (L, 0-1) surrendered a solo home run to Alen Hanson in the seventh to give the lead back to Bradenton 4-3. Hanson’s homer was his third of the year.
The Marauders poured it on in the eighth, adding four insurance runs to lead 8-3. Gamache hit a two-run homer, his first bomb of the year. Gamache finished 3-for-4 with eight total bases. Bradenton tallied eight extra-base hits.
Those insurance runs proved critical in the ninth. Robbie Kilcrease (W, 2-0) was replaced by Ryan Beckman, who surrendered a home run to Sano to start the innings, a double to Matt Koch, and then another home run by Angel Morales to make the score 8-6. With the Miracle back within two, Jairo Rodriguez singled to bring the tying run to the plate. Jhon Goncalves popped out. Kennys Vargas pinch hit for Andy Leer, but the Fort Myers slugger hit into a 3-6-3 double play to end the game.
The Marauders play four games at Lakeland before the All-Star Break. Nick Kingham will pitch for Bradenton tomorrow at Joker Marchant Stadium. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. and can be heard online at www.BradentonMarauders.com.