Mussels fall 4-3 to Marauders, evening three-game series
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BRADENTON, Fla. – The Mighty Mussels fell to the Bradenton Marauders 4-3 Wednesday night at LECOM Park.
Bradenton (45-52, 15-16) took a no-hitter into the eighth, and the Mussels (43-53, 16-16) had the tying run at third in the ninth when the game ended on a double play.
Mussels' starter Adrian Bohorquez matched a season high with eight strikeouts across four innings of work. He allowed two runs on a pair of solo homers and exited with the game tied.
Bradenton opened the scoring in the second when Jhonny Severino hit a leadoff homer to left. The home run was the first earned run Bohorquez had allowed in 17 innings in the month of July.
The Mussels plated a pair of runs off of Marauders starter Clevari Tejada in the third inning. He issued three walks in the frame, including a bases-loaded walk to Enrique Jimenez to tie the game 1-1. Jefferson Valladares followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1.
That lead was short lived, as Wyatt Sanford led off the bottom of the third a line drive into the right field corner. There was confusion by Eduardo Beltre on whether the ball was in play or not, and he eventually made a play on it, but Sanford was already crossing third and was able to cruise home for an inside the park home run, tying the game 2-2.
Tejada went four innings and issued a season high six walks, doubling his previous mark. The 22-year-old didn’t allow a hit in his start.
Still tied in the sixth, Anthony Narvaez hit Edward Florentino with a pitch to open the inning. He retired the next two batters before Tony Blanco Jr. connected on his first Low-A home run, putting Bradenton back ahead 4-2.
In the eighth, Yasser Mercedes blasted a solo homer to left to cut the margin to 4-3. The homer was the eighth of the year for Mercedes, and it's the third long ball he's hit during his six-game hitting streak. The homer also broke up the Marauders no-hit effort on the mound.
Jakob Hall worked 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. He struck out four of the six hitters he faced, highlighted by getting all three hitters looking in the eighth inning.
With the bases loaded in the ninth, Valladares grounded into a game-ending double play, evening the series at a game apiece.
The Mussels conclude their series in Bradenton today. Jason Doktorczyk (3-4, 5.29) starts for Fort Myers opposite Carlos Castillo (2-4, 4.17) who takes the mound for Bradenton. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., with coverage beginning at 6:20 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.