Just enough power and stellar pitching get Fish past Grizz

Updated July 20 2017
LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C.

After a tough 10-0 loss Wednesday night in Savannah, the Blowfish looked to notch their third straight home win Thursday night.

Lexington County got excellent starting pitching from Ryan Stoudemire (3-1) (Charleston Southern) who took a no-no through 5.2 innings as the Blowfish snagged a 5-3 win at home.

The Blowfish got the scoring started in the bottom of the second when Austin Wilhite (Georgia Tech) was inches from his first homer of the season.  Wilhite smacked a double instead off the top of the wall in left center that plated Riley Hogan (South Carolina) and gave the Fish a 1-0 lead.

Lexington County extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth when Hogan smacked his team-leading sixth dinger of the season.  The solo home run extended the lead to 2-0.

Gastonia got a run back in the sixth on their first hit of the ballgame. Harris Yett (UNC-Charlotte) dribbled one through the hole on the right side that brought in Nick Beinlich (Belmont-Abbey). The RBI single cut the lead in half at 2-1.

After Gastonia got their run in the top of the sixth, Lexington County came right back for three runs in the home half of the sixth.

The Fish strung together four straight hits to start off the inning and Dom Cuoci (St. Joseph’s) plated two on a double to center that inflated the lead back to three.  An RBI single off the bat of Drew Ellis (Mt. Olive) finished off the three run inning and gave the Blowfish a 5-1 advantage.

Both teams went quietly until the top of the ninth when Gastonia began to threaten.

Three straight hits for the Grizzlies allowed two to score.  Yett knocked a leadoff double and scored on a pickoff play at first.  Directly after the pickoff, Thomas Yoder (Belmont-Abbey) launched a pinch-hit solo home run off the foul pole in right.

The Blowfish never allowed Gastonia to get any further and held on to beat the Grizz 5-3.  Tomorrow night the Fish are back on the road in Florence to take on their in-state rival at Sparrow Stadium.  Coverage on z93.1 FM The Lake will begin at 6:45 and first pitch between the Blowfish and RedWolves is set for 7:05.

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:

Brian Principe

Phone:

803-245-3474