Pilots Pound 'Dogs
July 26, 2016 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Peninsula Pilots News Release
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Peninsula Pilots cranked out 17 hits en route to a 16-6 rout over the Fayetteville SwampDogs on Tuesday night at J.P. Riddle Stadium. The Pilots (30-16, 11-8), who came into the game second in the CPL with a .290 team batting average, took advantage of the SwampDogs' (13-30, 4-13) pitching staff that ranks last with a 5.72 ERA. Five players posted multi-hit games including Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary), who posted his best offensive game of the season with a 3-for-5 effort and a team-high 4 RBIs. Darian Carpenter (VCU), Joe Poduslenko (Seton Hall) and Franco Guardascione (Jacksonville) each had three hits to lead the Pilots.
Fayetteville jumped on the board first with a run in the first inning aided by an error. Kieton Rivers (Coastal Carolina) knocked a one-out triple and came around to score on a throwing error for the first run of the game.
Peninsula responded with five runs in the second inning to take the lead. A leadoff walk to Kyle McPherson (James Madison) and a single by Nick Walker (Old Dominion) set up a sacrifice bunt by Guardascione to put two runners in scoring positon. Wrighte took advantage of the situation and put the Pilots ahead with a two-run single to right. Will Shepherd (Liberty) followed with a two-run shot to put the visitors ahead 4-1. Kurt Sinnen (Old Dominon) was plunked by a pitch and Poduslenko singled to set up a RBI single by Carpenter to cap the scoring for the inning.
The Pilots added two more runs in the third inning with Wrighte plating a run on a double and scoring later in the inning due to an error.
Fayetteville found the scoreboard again in the bottom of the third inning with a RBI single by Matt Lahn (Lock Haven) and a sacrifice fly by Logan Corrigan (James Madison) to cut the deficit to 7-3.
After a couple scoreless innings, the Pilots scored in the sixth inning on a RBI double by Carpenter to score Sinnen. Peninsula broke the game open with a five-spot in the seventh inning. Guardascione brought in Walker, who had walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Wrighte posted his third hit of the game with an infield single to score Guardascione. After a walk to Sinnen, Poduslenko cranked a double down the left-field line to plate two and Carpenter capped the scoring with another RBI single.
Fayetteville played three runs in the seventh inning, with Corrigan plating a run and AJ Gallo (Towson) scoring two on a double.
Shepherd added a run for the Pilots in the eighth with a RBI single while Jacksonville teammates Guardascione and Chris Gau each plated a run with RBI singles in the ninth to allow the Pilots to match their highest scoring output of the season, which was also set against the SwampDogs on June 7.
Backed by a strong and persistent offense, the Pilots saw a solid start from Sam Sinnen (Old Dominion), who tossed four innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on the night. The right-hander struck out four before giving way to Chase Randolph (Lincoln Memorial), who pitched a scoreless inning to even his record to 1-1 on the season. Colt Harlow (James Madison) gave up three runs in two innings of work before Alex Mauricio (Norfolk State) retired all batters he faced and Poduslenko retired the final two batters to close out the game.
Cody Smith (Chowan) took the loss for the SwampDogs after giving up five runs in 1 1/3 innings to fall to 1-5 on the season.
The Pilots continue their four-game road trip with a matchup against Florence on Wednesday night. The team will return home on Saturday night for Star Wars Night against Petersburg. 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!
The Coastal Plain League is the nation's premier summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 20th season in 2016, the CPL features 16 teams playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL has had nearly 1,300 alumni drafted and 88 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 Twitter @CPLBaseball.
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