Updated June 23 2017
Jim Wagner hit his first RedWolves home run of the season, but Florence fell short on Friday night against Wilmington, as the Sharks swam away from Sparrow Stadium with a 5-3 win handing the RedWolves its fifth straight loss.
The Wilmington Sharks (8-12) jumped ahead of the Florence RedWolves (13-6) with two runs in the first inning and never looked back. Wilmington sent eight batters to the plate in the top of the first with three hits and two walks leading to two runs. Justin Dean walked to open the game and was then driven in on a Michael Sandle double to left-center. After a groundout moved Sandle to third, Trevor McCutchin drove in the second run of the inning with a single to center taking the 2-0 lead.
Wilmington added a run in the top of the third from Riley Knudsen’s sacrifice fly. Luke Morgan led off on a single to center followed by a McCutchin base hit to right. Knudsen lifted a fly ball to left field scoring Morgan for the 3-0 lead.
The Sharks put a fourth run on the board in the fourth inning on a base hit and three walks for the 4-0 advantage.
The Sharks put the score to 5-1 in the sixth on an RBI single from Morgan’s base hit.
Zach Jacobs picked up an RBI in the fifth inning on a walk with the bases loaded. Brandon Chapman led off the inning with a fly ball single to right and Storme Cooper walked behind him. Tyler Webb hit into a fielder’s choice to put runners on the corners and Masen Hibbeler drew the second walk of the inning. Luke Gesell (1-1) then walked the third batter of the inning in Jacobs to put Florence on the board, 5-1.
Florence cut into the lead again in the sixth on a leadoff solo home run from Jim Wagner. The homer is Wagner’s first of the season and the first long ball hit by the RedWolves at home this season.
The RedWolves pushed runs across in the bottom of the eighth inning as well as Jacobs scored on a Tanner Mann-Fix base knock to centerfield. Jacobs worked his way on base with his second walk of the night. Riley King added a seeing eye single through the left side with two outs. Mann-Fix stepped up and roped the RBI single to center scoring Jacobs to make it 5-3.
Florence left ten men on base, including leaving the bases loaded three times.
The RedWolves will be on the road traveling to Fayetteville to take on the SwampDogs, Saturday, June 24th in a cross-divisional matchup. First pitch is slated for 7pm. Visit www.florenceredwolves.com for tickets and information.
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:
Audie Wise
Phone:(843)-629-0700