Updated July 19 2017
Morehead City Marlins catcher Kyle Skeels (Coastal Carolina) hammered a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to trim the deficit down to two runs; however, the Marlins dropped their sixth consecutive contest to the visiting Wilmington Sharks by a score of 7-4 from Puck O’Neal at Big Rock Stadium Wednesday evening. Skeels drilled his third dinger of the season to keep the Marlins within striking distance, but fell short in the late comeback effort.
Morehead City is now 16-20 overall and 3-5 in the second half of the season. Wilmington improves to 20-19 overall and 7-4 in the second half of the 2017 campaign. The Marlins face the Sharks again tomorrow evening for the 13th time this summer. First is slated for 7:05 p.m. from Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium with all the play-by-play action being called on the Marlins Mixlr Station.
Skeels was 1-for-3 in the contest with a team-high three RBIs, while Daulton Weeks (USC Aiken) was 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two runs scored. The Mercer University duo of Jackson Ware and Steven Taylor finished 2-for-4 and 2-for-5 at the plate, respectively.
For Wilmington, Brian Parreira (USC Aiken) went 3-for-4 with a pair of double and a solo home run, along with two runs scored. Ward Coleman (New Hanover) posted a 3-for-4 mark with one run driven in, while Luke Morgan (College of Charleston) finished 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Wilmington jumped out to the early 2-0 advantage in the opening frame on runs scored from Dean and Morgan. The Sharks soon added two more in the top of the fourth inning on a solo homer from Trevor McCutchin (Oral Roberts) and RBI single from Coleman, stretching the lead out to 4-0.
The Marlins got on the board in the bottom half of the fourth inning on the third home run of the season from Weeks, trimming the deficit down to 4-1. A RBI single from Michael Sandle (South Alabama) in the top of the seventh inning and home run from Parreira in the top half of the eighth put the Sharks up 6-1 entering the bottom frame.
In the home half of the eighth inning, the Marlins attempted a late comeback with a three-run bomb from Skeels to cut the margin down to 6-4. One frame later, Wilmington’s third solo homer of the contest off the bat of Morgan put the Sharks up 7-4 in the top of the ninth inning. Morehead City got a two-out single from Ware in the bottom of the ninth, but Wilmington held on for the three-run victory.
Sharks starting right-handed pitcher Breydan Gorham (UNC Wilmington) got the win, improving to 5-1. Marlins starting lefty Quinton Driggers (Newberry) took the loss, falling to 2-3. MHC righty relief pitcher Dariel Checo (Central Methodist) led the Marlins pitching staff, tossing three innings with no earned runs allowed on three hits and two strikeouts.
Following the road contest at Wilmington tomorrow night, the Marlins return to home for back-to-back weekend games against the Edenton Steamers and Wilson Tobs on Friday (7/21) and Saturday evening (7/22). Both first pitches are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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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