Updated July 20 2017
For the second consecutive night, the Morehead City Marlins fell behind early and were unable to even the score in a 5-2 defeat to the host Wilmington Sharks from Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium Thursday evening. The Marlins drop their seventh straight game to the Sharks with Wilmington leading the season series 9-4.
Morehead City is now 16-21 overall and 3-6 in the second half of the season. Wilmington improves to 21-19 overall and 8-4 in the second half of the 2017 campaign. The Marlins return home to Big Rock Stadium tomorrow night for a doubleheader versus the Edenton Steamers beginning at 6:00 p.m. The first game will be a continuation of the suspended game from July 2 with the Marlins leading 3-2 in the top of the fifth inning, while the second contest will last seven total innings.
Marlins shortstop Randy Perez (Central Methodist) finished 1-for-3 with a RBI double, while catcher Kyle Skeels (Coastal Carolina) tallied a RBI single in an identical 1-for-3 effort at the plate. Daulton Weeks (USC Aiken) and Jackson Ware (Mercer) each finished 1-for-4 with a double and one run scored.
For Wilmington, Luke Morgan (College of Charleston) led the Sharks offensive efforts finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and a RBI on his game-winning solo home run. Brian Parreira (USC Aiken) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Dan Wilson (UNC Asheville) drove in a pair of runs in a 1-for-4 performance.
The Sharks grabbed an early 1-0 advantage in the bottom frame of the first inning on a solo shot from Morgan. Four innings later, Wilson posted a RBI fielder’s choice to extend the Wilmington lead out to 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The MHC bats began cooking in the top of the sixth with a lead-off double from Ware followed by a RBI double from Perez to cut the deficit in half at 2-1. A two-RBI single from Parreira in the bottom frame stretched the advantage out to 4-1.
Skeels soon tallied his fourth RBI in the last two games on a run-scoring single in the top half of the seventh inning to put the Marlins within two scores at 4-2 before a RBI base-knock from Wilson pushed the lead out to 5-2 in the home frame of the eighth. Wilmington retired the Marlins in order in the top of ninth inning to secure the three-run victory.
Sharks starting right-handed pitcher Colby Lee (South Carolina) got the win, improving to 3-3. Marlins starting lefty Luke Sleeper (Stanford) took the loss, falling to 0-1. Sleeper tossed six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts in a strong starting effort.
Following a pair of home games against the Steamers tomorrow night, the Marlins host the Wilson Tobs Saturday evening within the friendly confines of Puck O’Neal Field at Big Rock Stadium before an off-day on Sunday. First pitch is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start with the contest airing live on the CPL Webpass.
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
Phone:919-208-3636