Pilots Steam 'Clams
June 22, 2016 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Peninsula Pilots News Release
HAMPTON, Va. - The Peninsula Pilots pounded out 19 hits along with a grand slam by Drake McNamara to pull out a tension-filled 13-7 victory over arch-rival Edenton Steamers on Tuesday night at Historic Hicks Field.
Despite having a four-game win streak snapped last night against Morehead City, the Pilots (13-5) quickly put it in the past and used multi-hit games from five different players to hand the Steamers their seventh consecutive loss.
Will Shepherd (Liberty), Charlie Cody (Virginia), Drake McNamara (Southern Indiana), and Kyle McPherson (James Madison) each had three hits apiece while Evan Fernandez (Jacksonville) posted two.
For what it seems to be a common trend, the Pilots once again scored first in the ballgame, this time with a Kurt Sinnen (Old Dominion) solo shot to left-center. The visitors plated two more in the second inning off a triple by McPherson Darian Carpenter (VCU) led off the inning with a single to left-center. After two outs, Fernandez singled to put two on before McPherson's hit pushed the lead to 3-0.
Edenton responded with a five-run second inning to take their first and only lead of the ballgame. Jimbo Pernetti (CSU Chico) led off the inning with a solo shot to right-center. After a groundout, a single and a fielding error put two on before Aaron Aucker (Middle Tennessee) homered to center field to put the Steamers ahead up one. Trey Hair (Evansville) went back-to-back with a solo shot of his own to give the Steamers a 5-3 lead after two innings.
The Steamers' lead would not last as the Pilots erupted with five runs of their own in the third inning. After a leadoff double by Shepherd, Sinnen walked and Cody singled to load the bases. Carpenter tied the game on a hit by pitch and McNamara made the Clams pay with a grand slam to center field.
After Edenton scored a run in the fourth, the Pilots tacked on three more in the fifth to allow the Pilots to score in double figures once again. The CPL's leading offense has now had 10 or more runs in eight games this season. McNamara continued his torrid start with a one-out double and came around to score on a RBI groundout by Fernandez. Andrew Yacyk (Liberty), who walked, came around to score on a McPherson single. Nick Walker (Old Dominion) added a RBI single of his own to score McPherson.
The Pilots added a single run in both the seventh and ninth innings, respectively, off the bat of Cody. He scored Josh Close (Liberty) in the seventh on a RBI single and capped the scoring in the ninth with a single to score Close once again.
While the Pilots had a display of offensive fireworks, the Pilots bullpen backed up the starter with 7 2/3 innings of relief with only two runs allowed. Tim Edwards (Seton Hall) was called on to get the Pilots out of the jam in the second inning and got a double play to end the threat. Devin Mahoney (St. Louis) followed with two innings, giving up a run and striking out two. Michael Parmentier (Norfolk State) tossed three innings and gave up an unearned run to record the win. The right-hander struck out six in the brief stint. Alex Shauger (Chipola) and Robbie Hiser (Norfolk State) followed with a scoreless inning apiece to close out the game.
After an off day on Wednesday, the Pilots will face Wilson on the road on Thursday night before hosting Martinsville on Friday night for Bethel Baptist 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!
• Discuss this story on the Coastal Plain League message board...
Coastal Plain League Stories from June 22, 2016
- Pinch Hit Home Run Lifts Blowfish over RedWolves - Lexington County Blowfish
- Long Ball Powers SwampDogs over Edenton - Fayetteville SwampDogs
- Salamanders Rally Falls Short - Holly Springs Salamanders
- Copperheads Offense Drowns Sharks - Wilmington Sharks
- Thirsty Thursday and Bus Pickup for Fans Tomorrow - Wilson Tobs
- Steamers Outhit by Pilots - Edenton Steamers
- Pilots Steam 'Clams - Peninsula Pilots
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
