Updated July 26 2017
The Morehead City Marlins tallied a season-high four home runs in the contest, powering the visitors to a 9-4 victory over the host Peninsula Pilots Wednesday evening. The Fish played their final game in Hampton for the 2017 campaign, finishing 2-0 at War Memorial Stadium this summer and increased their season series lead to 3-1 over the Pilots.
Morehead City improves to 20-23 overall and 7-8 in the second half. Peninsula falls to 27-19 overall and 11-7 in the second half of the 2017 season. The Marlins conclude their three-game road trip tomorrow night with a trip to J.P. Riddle Stadium to face the Fayetteville SwampDogs. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m.
Marlins center fielder Sammy Miller (Longwood) topped the MHC offensive charts with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with two RBIs. Designated hitter Will Matthiessen (Stanford) and right fielder Jackson Ware (Mercer) each contributed a home run, while finishing 2-for-5 at the plate with one run scored. Left fielder Derek Olenchuk (Newberry) also went 2-for-4 with a RBI.
For Peninsula, Conor Davis (Auburn) led the Pilot bats going 3-for-4 with a trio of singles. Designated hitter Matt Schneider (Mercyhurst) went 3-for-4 in the contest, while Sam Griggs (Southern Indiana) posted a 2-for-4 mark with a solo home run.
The Marlins struck first on the fifth home run in the last four games by Kyle Skeels (Coastal Carolina) followed by a RBI single from Miller to put the Fish up 2-0 in the top of the third inning. A solo homer from Ware in the top half of the fourth inning stretched the MHC lead out to 3-0 followed by a RBI single from Olenchuk one inning later to make it 4-0.
Peninsula got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning on a RBI single from Logan Augustine (Lincoln Memorial) to cut the deficit down to 4-1. The Marlins extended their advantage out to 6-1 in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly from Nick Podkul (Notre Dame) followed by Miller’s second RBI single of the contest.
The Pilots responded with a pair of unanswered runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings to trim the margin down to 6-3; however, a pair of home runs in the eighth and ninth frames put the Marlins up 9-3. Mark Castellucci (Univ. of Montevallo) drilled his first homer of the season in the eighth, while Matthiessen posted his second dinger of the summer with a two-run shot in the ninth.
The Pilots scored one run in the ninth inning, but Marlins right-hander Cody Boydstun (Longwood) finished the job and secured the five-run victory. Morehead City starting lefty Octavio Mirabal (King University) got the win, improving to 1-2. Peninsula starting lefty Vinnie Tarantola (Liberty) took the loss, falling to 2-4.
Mirabal tallied his first win of the season, tossing six innings with two earned runs on eight hits and seven strikeouts. Boydstun went the final two innings allowing no earned runs on three hits with five 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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