Jason Kanzler leads Fort Myers to victory, as they overcome a disastrous inning to take a 1-0 series lead. Elizabethton is eliminated as Nick Gordon misses the game with a broken finger. Cedar Rapids opens its playoff series tonight.
FORT MYERS 8, BRADENTON 7 IN BRADENTON (PLAYOFF GAME 1)
Batting stars: Jason Kanzler was 2-for-3 with a grand slam, a double, and a walk, driving in six. Dalton Hicks was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Adam Brett Walker II was 0-for-1 with four walks and two runs.
Pitching stars: Brandon Peterson pitched 2.1 perfect innings with one strikeout. D. J. Johnson struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a walk. Zach Jones struck out two in a perfect inning.
Opposition star: Jordan Steranka was 1-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.
The game: In the second, an RBI double by Max Kepler and a two-run double by Kanzler gave Fort Myers a 3-0 lead. It didn't last long, because in the bottom of the second Bradenton put up seven. The Miracle made three errors in the inning, so all seven runs were unearned. There was a man on first with two out, but then came an error, a double, a single, an error, another error, a walk, and a double. It looked bad, but Fort Myers came back to score four in the fourth. They got three walks to start the inning and Kanzler then hit a home run to tie the game at seven. In the sixth, Travis Harrison hit a one-out double and scored on a single by Hicks. Apart from the second, the only Marauders threat came in the eighth, when a single and a walk put men on first and second with one out. A double play ended the inning.
Of note: Aderlin Mejia was 0-for-4 with a walk. Harrison was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Kepler was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one. Starter Brett Lee pitched 1.2 innings, giving up seven unearned runs on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
Playoff series update: Fort Myers leads the best-of-three series one game to none.
JOHNSON CITY 5, ELIZABETHTON 4 IN ELIZABETHTON (PLAYOFF GAME 3)
Batting stars: Tyler Kuresa was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer. Blake Schmit was 2-for-3 with a run. Tanner English was 2-for-5 with a run.
Pitching star: Keaton Steele pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Julio Mateo pitched five shutout innings of relief, allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Anthony Ray was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, driving in two. Chris Rivera was 1-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
The game: Kuresa hit a two-run homer in the first to give Elizabethton the early lead. Johnson City came back with three in the second. All the damage came with two out: three singles to score one and a two-run triple by Ray to make it 3-2 Cardinals. In the third, three consecutive singles loaded the bases for the Twins and an error put Elizabethton back on top 4-3. For a while it looked like that might be enough, but in the sixth, two singles, a productive out, and a sacrifice fly tied the score. In the seventh, a walk and two singles loaded the bases for Johnson City and a wild pitch brought home the go-ahead run. After the third inning, the Twins only twice got a man past first base. In the fourth, Jeremias Pineda walked, stole second, and reached third on a fly ball with two out. In the seventh, Tanner English singled and stole second, again getting there with two out.
Of note: Trey Vavra was 1-for-4 with a run. Jorge Fernandez was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Nick Gordon did not play, missing the game with a broken finger.
Playoff series update: Elizabethton is done, losing the playoff series two games to one. The visiting team won all three games.
TODAY'S TILTS
6:05 Bradenton (TBA) at Fort Myers (TBA)
6:35 Burlington (TBA) at Cedar Rapids (Chih-Wei Hu, 8-2, 2.15)