St. Lucie Edges Out Bradenton 4-3

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PORT ST. LUCIE – The Mets (24-21) plated the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch, defeating the Marauders (29-19) 4-3 on Saturday night at Tradition Field. The loss is Bradenton’s third straight and keeps the Marauders tied with the Palm Beach Cardinals in first place.

Bradenton trailed 3-2 into the bottom of the ninth, but got a third dramatic home run in six days to draw even. Jacob Stallings launched his second home run of the season off Beck Wheeler (W, 4-1) to get Bradenton even with one away in the ninth. Wheeler wound up with the win after his fourth blown save.

Bryton Trepagnier (L, 3-1) pitched a perfect eighth inning in relief of Shane Carle, but started the ninth inning by walking Eudy Pina on four pitches. A sacrifice bunt and a ground out moved Pina to third, where he scored on a wild pitch to the right of Stallings.

Carle pitched seven strong innings for Bradenton, striking out a half dozen. He did not walk a batter and scattered nine hits, four of which were in the first inning. Only one of the three runs Carle allowed was earned.

Game two of the series will be played on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Chad Kuhl makes his third attempt at securing his 12^th win of the season. Luis Cessa will pitch for the Mets. The game will be broadcast online at www.BradentonMarauders.com. 

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