Updated August 02 2017
The Morehead City Marlins trailed 5-3 entering the top of the sixth inning before the Fish rallied with four unanswered runs to take the lead, securing the 7-5 victory over the host Fayetteville SwampDogs from J.P. Riddle Stadium Tuesday evening. The Marlins trailed by as many as three runs in the contest before notching a huge comeback triumph on the road.
Morehead City improves to 23-26 overall and 10-11 in the second half. Fayetteville falls to 30-21 and 12-11 in the second half of the 2017 campaign. The Marlins return to Puck O’Neal Field at Big Rock Stadium tomorrow night, hosting the Holly Springs Salamanders for a 7:05 p.m. start. Listen to all the play-by-play action on the Marlins Mixlr Station and live updates via Twitter (@mhcmarlins).
Marlins catcher Mark Castellucci (Univ. of Montevallo) led the MHC offensive efforts, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate with a team-high two RBIs. Center fielder Alec Wilson (Stanford) and left fielder Sammy Miller (Longwood) each contibuted an identical 2-for-4 mark, while Wilson scored one run and tallied a RBI. Designated hitter Derek Olenchuk (Newberry College) went 2-for-5 with a run driven in.
For Fayetteville, Jayson Newman (Cal State Northridge) led the SwampDogs bats with a 2-for-3 effort, driving in a pair of runs. Trent Franson (TCU) also finished 2-for-3 with a RBI in the contest.
The SwampDogs struck first in the opening frame with a trio of runs to grab the early 3-0 advantage, highlighted by RBI singles from Newman and Andrew Henrickson (East Carolina). The Marlins trimmed the deficit on a RBI ground-out from Daulton Weeks (USC Aiken) to make it a 3-1 game in the top of the second inning.
In the top half of the fifth, a sacrifice fly from Nick Podkul (Notre Dame) and RBI single from Olecnhuk knotted the score at 3-3. Fayetteville immediately answered in the bottom frame with the go-ahead RBI single from Newman followed by a run-scoring double from Franson to put the SwampDogs ahead 5-3.
Morehead City bounced back in the next frame with four runs in the top of the sixth inning to grab a 7-5 advantage. The scoring flurry commenced with the game-tying two run single from Castellucci to knot the game at 5-5. Wilson then ripped the go-ahead RBI double, which was followed by Jackson Ware (Mercer) scoring on a wild pitch to stretch the MHC lead out to 7-5.
The Marlins defense held the SwampDogs scoreless for the final four innings. MHC right-handed pitcher Will Matthiessen (Stanford) tallied his second save of the season in the ninth frame, retiring the Fayetteville batters in order.
Morehead City right-hander Cody Boydstun (Longwood) got the win, improving to 2-0. Fayetteville lefty reliever Brandon Hicks (Riverside City College) took the loss, falling to 0-1. Boydstun posted a strong outing in relief, tossing three scoreless innings with no hits allowed and three strikeouts.
The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 22nd season in 2018, the CPL features 16 teams playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL has had over 1,450 alumni drafted and 111 of those – including 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander – make their Major League debut; while another notable alum – Russell Wilson – won Super Bowl XLVIII. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com and follow us via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @CPLBaseball..Contact:Jackson Kaplan
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