Updated August 03 2017
Trailing 5-4 with two outs in the ninth inning, the Marlins drew three walks and tallied two runs in the frame to take the lead en route to a huge comeback victory over the host Wilson Tobs from Fleming Stadium Thursday evening. The Fish win their fourth consecutive game heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
Morehead City improves to 25-26 overall and 12-11 in the second half. Wilson falls to 17-36 overall and 8-17 in the second half of the 2017 campaign. The Marlins return to the friendly confines of Puck O’Neak at Big Rock Stadium tomorrow night, hosting the Peninsula Pilots for a 7:05 p.m. start.
Marlins shortstop Nick Podkul (Notre Dame) led the MHC offensive attack, finishing 2-for-5 at the plate with a pair of RBIs. Catcher Mark Castellucci (Univ. of Montevallo) went 2-for-4, while Nolan Clenney (NC State) posted a 1-for-4 mark with two RBIs in his first start at the plate.
For Wilson, Carson McCurdy (Mount Olive) led the Tobs bats with a game-high 3-for-4 effort at the dish with three runs driven in, while Dawnoven Smith (NC A&T) went 2-for-5 with one run scored and a RBI. Hunter Gore (Liberty) was 2-for-4 with one RBI in the contest.
The Marlins struck first in the top half of the second inning on a RBI fielder’s choice from Clenney to give the visitors an early 1-0 advantage. In the bottom frame, a two-RBI single from McCurdy put the Tobs ahead 2-1.
Morehead City answered in the top of the fourth inning with a pair of runs on a RBI single from Sammy Miller (Longwood) and run-scoring double from Podkul to give the Marlins a 3-2 lead.
The back-and-forth affair continued as the Tobs regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on RBI doubles from McCurdy and Gore to put Wilson ahead by a score of 4-3.
Both teams exchanged runs in the seventh inning with Podkul drilling a solo homer to knot the score at 4-4 in the top half before a RBI single from Smith gave the Tobs a 5-4 advantage in the bottom frame.
After the Marlins were down to their final out in the top half of the ninth inning, a single from Castellucci loaded the bases to extend the frame. Clenney was then hit by a pitch to bring home Will Matthiessen (Stanford) and tie the score at 5-5. One batter later, Charlie King (Davidson) tallied the game-winning RBI single to make it a 6-5 contest.
Matthiessen took the mound in the bottom of the ninth, retiring the Tobs in order to secure an impressive comeback triumph for the Marlins. Morehead City right-hander Kip DeShields (Youngstown State) got the win, improving to 2-1. Wilson righty Jeff Thompson (Belmont Abbey) took the loss, falling to 0-1.
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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