Pilots' Rally Fall Short
July 7, 2016 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Peninsula Pilots News Release
HAMPTON, Va. - The Peninsula Pilots mounted a late comeback but fell short 6-5 to the Wilmington Sharks on Thursday night at War Memorial Stadium. Despite out-hitting the Sharks, 14-11, the Pilots were unable to cool off the hottest team in the CPL. Wilmington has won 9 of the past 11 games, including a 5-0 clip in the second half after tonight's victory. The Pilots fall to 2-2 in the second half.
Darian Carpenter (VCU) and Charlie Cody (Virginia) had three hit games but the Pilots left 12 runners on base as they suffered their second straight loss.
After a scoreless first inning, the Sharks scored first in the second inning with a RBI double by Grant Koch (UNCW). Alec Bohm (Wichita State) led off the inning with a single to center. After two flyouts, Koch doubled to left field allowing Bohm to race all the way around the bases to put the Sharks on the board.
The Pilots wasted no time as they responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Joe Poduslenko (Seton Hall) reached on a single and came around to score on Franco Guardascione's (Jacksonville) first home run of the season. Guardascione's two-run shot to left-center put the Pilots ahead 2-1 after two complete.
Wilmington exploded for five runs in the third inning to take a commanding 6-2 lead. Mark Donadio (Fordham) led off the inning with a hit by pitch and Clark Scolamiero (South Carolina) followed with a walk to put two on with no outs. After a pop out, four consecutive hits allowed the Sharks to score five runs. Bohm and Cletis Avery (Oral Roberts) each had RBI singles while Madison Stokes (South Carolina) brought home a run and Koch scored two more with a double.
Peninsula would not back away easily as they plated a run in both the third and fourth innings, respectively. Will Shepherd (Liberty) led off the third with a double to left field. After advancing on a wild pitch, Charlie Cody (Virginia) singled through the left side to plate Shepherd.
In the fourth, the Pilots loaded the bases with three singles prompting the Sharks to go to the bullpen. After a strikeout, Shepherd drew a walk to plate Guardascione to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Wilmington had a chance to break the game open in the fifth inning but Chris Gau (Jacksonville) struck out three batters as the Sharks had runners on second and third with no outs. Gau ended the night with four scoreless innings and racking up seven strikeouts.
Peninsula threatened in the ninth inning by pulling within one. Shepherd drew a one-out walk before Carpenter singled to put two on with one out. Cody singled through the left side to plate Shepherd and bring the Pilots within one. Devin Mahoney (St. Louis) drew a walk to load the bases with two outs but Guardascione's missile to right was caught to end the game.
Along with Gau's strong stint on the mound, Tim Edwards (Seton Hall) tossed a scoreless inning and Michael Parmentier (Norfolk State) tossed a scoreless ninth inning by striking out the side.
The Pilots travel to Edenton on Friday night before returning home on Saturday to face Wilson for Strikeout Cancer Night! 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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Coastal Plain League Stories from July 7, 2016
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- Blowfish Fall to HiToms - Lexington County Blowfish
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