ports Bradenton 5, Clearwater 2 (13 innings)

Chris Diaz (SecondShotPhoto.com)

CLEARWATER — DH Barrett Barnes crushed a pair of solo home runs and the Marauders (27-31) scored an elusive extra innings win 5-2 in 13 innings over Clearwater at Bright House Field on Tuesday.

Barnes homered to tie the game 1-1 in the fourth inning against Threshers starter Mark Leiter Jr., then lifted off again in the eighth to give the Marauders a 2-1 lead.

The Threshers were down to their last out in the ninth, but Chace Numata’s single to center off RHP Clario Perez knotted the score at 2-2. RHP Miguel Rosario (W, 1-0) stymied the Threshers over the next

three innings to earn the win. RHP Montana DuRapau earned his first save.

2B Erich Weiss started the rally off Miguel Nunez (L, 0-2) in the 13th with an infield hit. Weiss stole second and moved to third on an errant throw, then scored on an RBI single from C Reese McGuire. 1B Edwin Espinal and LF Michael Fransoso added RBIs in the inning. RHP Frank Duncan started and struck out eight over five innings.

The game began at 7:01 p.m. under clear skies, 88 degrees, and wind blowing 5 mph from left to right. Barrett Barnes had his first multi-homer game since 6/21/13 for West Virginia against Lakewood. Frank Duncan matched his season high with eight strikeouts while falling one shy of his career high. The Marauders improved to 2-6 in extra innings while the Threshers fell to 6-2 in bonus baseball.

The Marauders return home to face Clearwater for the third game of the series. LHP Steven Brault will be on the mound against RHP Colin Kleven. Live streaming audio will be available on www.BradentonMarauders.com and on the TuneIn App.