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Pilots Hold off Steamers, 7-3

July 3, 2016 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Peninsula Pilots News Release


HAMPTON, Va.- The Peninsula Pilots completed a 7-3 victory over the Edenton Steamers to start the second half on a winning note on Sunday night at War Memorial Stadium.

Kyle McPherson (James Madison) and Nick Walker (Old Dominion) made waves at the plate. McPherson went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Walker batted 2-for-3 with one RBI. In addition, both McPherson and Walker scored one run.

The Pilots (20-8) crossed home in the first inning, continuing their season-long trend of scoring early in the game. Leading off for the Pilots, Walker doubled to left center field. After advancing to third base on a fielder's choice from McPherson, Walker crossed home on a ground out by Will Shepherd (Liberty).

Edenton tied the game with a run of their own in the second inning. Trey Hair (Evansville) led off the inning with a double, then advanced to third base on a strikeout in the dirt from Stefan Van Horn (Washington State). Tony Rosselli (Indiana State) plated Hair in the next at-bat on a ground out to first base.

The tie game did not last for long, however, as the Pilots' offense came alive again in the bottom of the second inning. After walking, Charlie Cody (Virginia) advanced to third base on a single from Joe Poduslenko (Seton Hall). Then, with two outs, consecutive walks from Walker and Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary) allowed Cody to score. Poduslenko crossed home in the next at-bat, a single from McPherson that barely bounced past the outstretched glove of the shortstop.

The Pilots opened the game up in the fourth inning, tacking four runs on the board. Poduslenko and Guardascione reached on a single and a walk, respectively, to lead off the inning. Wrighte then laid down a beautiful bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Walker got back in the action in the next at-bat, hitting a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Guardascione. Then, personifying the clutch hitting that the Pilots have exhibited throughout the season, McPherson crushed a two-run triple to right center field, scoring in Poduslenko and Wrighte. To cap off the inning, Wrighte reached home on a fielding error from a Shepherd ground ball, putting the Pilots up 7-1.

The Pilots pitching staff shined in this one as well, with Alex Mauricio (Norfolk State) and Devin Mahoney (Saint Louis) having standout performances. Mauricio, making his first start of the summer, tossed four innings, striking out three while allowing only one run. Coming in for relief, Mahoney threw two innings of shutout baseball, striking out three as well. Overall, these two pitchers accounted for six of the Pilots' ten strikeouts on the night.

After five consecutive scoreless innings, the Steamers touched the scoreboard again in the eighth inning. In an otherwise unremarkable inning, Hair blasted a solo home run over the right field wall, making the score 7-2.

Edenton attempted a comeback in the ninth inning, but could not string together enough hits to overcome the five run deficit. With the bases loaded, Tyler Ammerman (USC-Aiken) hit into a fielder's choice, plating Rosselli from third base. However, that was all the offense that Edenton could produce, falling to a final score of 7-3 as Robbie Hiser (Norfolk State) preserved the victory by retiring the final two batters for his second save of the season.

The Pilots travel to Wilson on Independence Day, but come back home to War Memorial Stadium on Tuesday to take on Petersburg for their Dog Days of Summer. For more information regarding the season, please visit www.peninsulapilots.com. For up to the minute details on Pilots Baseball be sure to "Like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PeninsulaPilots. Use the #PilotsNation to spread the word about the Pilots!

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