PORT ST. LUCIE -- Whether or not the St. Lucie Mets are the best team in the Florida State League right now is debatable.
What isn’t up for discussion is the club’s incredible flair for the dramatic.
Jefry Marte looped a soft liner to center field with two outs to score Travis Ozga from second base with the game-winner in the bottom of the 10th inning as St. Lucie closed the decisive Game 3 of the Division Championship Series, defeating the Bradenton Marauders 4-3 Thursday night at Digital Domain Park.
St. Lucie will play at Daytona Friday night in Game 1 of the League Championship Series and try to begin its claim for its sixth Florida State League title. Right-hander Armando Rodriguez will start for the Mets in the best-of-5 series.
For Ozga, an eighth-inning replacement, it was deja vu all over again. On June 20 at home, he scored from first base on Cesar Puello’s double to left in the eleventh inning that clinched the South Division’s first half.
“It’s amazing. When I got on I was like, ‘No way this will happen again,” said Ozga, who drew a walk and moved to second on a walk to Stefan Welch. “Marte really came through. I knew it going to be a close play, but the center fielder was playing a little deep.”
Ozga slid across home plate head-first with the winner, and the team sprinted from the dugout and mobbed Marte near second base before a post-game celebration began near the home dugout.
Added Marte, who recorded his first career walk-off hit: “It was a fastball in the middle of the plate, and that’s what I was looking for.”
Lopez has preached defense and pitching all year, and he got that in spades. St. Lucie turned three double plays, fired out a runner at home plate to end the fourth inning and received standout pitching from starter Greg Peavey and reliever Jeff Kaplan, who recorded the win.
“Pitching and defense win championships. We’ve just got to go up to Daytona and take care of our business,” said Lopez.
He added that the team was down a bit after Wednesday night’s 10-0 loss after winning Game 1 in Bradenton in an exciting ninth inning.
“I don’t want to say our team was giving up, but after that game last night, it took a lot of air from us. I told them to get that music on and be upbeat. This team, even though we’re younger than most of the teams around the league, they’re hungry,” Lopez said.
St. Lucie had to rally twice from one-run deficits to keep the game alive.
After Bradenton went up 2-1 in the fifth on a single by shortstop Benji Gonzalez, the Mets answered an inning later. Outfielder Pedro Zapata slammed a 1-0 pitch from Bradenton starter Nathan Baker over the left-field fence to even it at 1-1.
The Marauders grabbed the lead again in the top of the eighth when Ramon Cabrera, the FSL’s top hitter, one-hopped a single into right field off reliever Josh Edgin to score Gonzalez.
The Mets, though, managed another comeback, courtesy of Wilmer Flores. The Venezuelan shortstop bounced a two-out single over reliever Ryan Beckman to plate Zapata, who had stolen second base and moved over to third after an infield single with one out.
Flores nearly put the Mets ahead 4-3 when he went first-to-third on a single to right by Welch, but Puello grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded to end the threat.
