Herald staff report

JUPTIER -- The Bradenton Marauders split a doubleheader with the Palm Beach Cardinals on Sunday at Roger Dean Stadium.

The Marauders (25-24) won the opener 3-0 but dropped a 3-2 decision in the nightcap to remain tied in first place with the St. Lucie Mets.

Eliecer Navarro stifled the Cardinals (24-27) in game one. The southpaw fired a complete game, holding the Palm Beach lineup to three singles and one runner as far as third base in the game. Navarro struck out four and walked just one.

Alex Dickerson went 3-for-4 with a run scored in the first game. Dan Grovatt and Benji Gonzalez each had RBI-knocks for the Marauders. Grovatt finished the first game 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base.

Game two started with each team scratching out a run in their half of the first and second inning. After that the early offense, Jhonathan Ramos and Kyle Hald settled in for a pitcher's duel. Hald was around long enough to earn the win, pitching six innings and striking out five.

The Cardinals rallied to plate a run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth inning against Matt Benedict. Zach Russell pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save for Palm Beach.

The Marauders are off on Monday. A six-game home stand at McKechnie Field gets underway Tuesday evening when the Marauders host the Charlotte Stone Crabs for a 6:30 p.m. game.