Pilots Swamp 'Dogs

June 7, 2016 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Peninsula Pilots News Release


HAMPTON, Va. - The Peninsula Pilots clubbed three home runs en route to a 16-1 rout over the Fayetteville SwampDogs on Tuesday night at War Memorial Stadium.

Andrew Yacyk (Liberty) belted two home runs and had three RBIs while Evan Fernandez (Jacksonville) added a home run and three RBIs. Will Shepherd (Liberty) and Cole Austin (West Virginia) each added two hits apiece in the rout.

Along with the bats, the Pilots had success on the mound as a trio of pitchers kept the SwampDogs offense off-balance. Devin Hemmerich (Norfolk State) was awarded with the win after tossing five solid innings. The junior left-hander scattered six hits while giving up one run and striking out three. Josh Winder (VMI) followed with three shutout innings while striking out three. Robbie Hiser (Norfolk State) took down the SwampDogs in order in the ninth to close out the game.

The Pilots jumped on the board first, marking the sixth straight game the team has scored first. Shepherd drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a groundout. Yacyk, who made his Pilots debut last night, took a 1-0 pitch from Peter Moore (Lehigh) over the left field wall for the Pilots first home run of the season.

Peninsula tacked on three more runs in the second inning when Nick Walker (Old Dominion) brought in Fernandez with a RBI single through the right side. Shepherd followed with an infield single to third base to bring in another run. Darian Carpenter (VCU) capped the scoring in the inning with a RBI on a fielder's choice.

Fayetteville touched the scoreboard in the third inning with a RBI double by Patrick Donnelly (Lehigh). Frankie Jezioro (Slippery Rock) and Trey Vickers (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) each knocked two-out singles before Donnelly's double to right center plated Jezioro.

After two scoreless innings, the Pilots found the scoreboard once again in the fifth inning when Yacyk hit a solo home run down the left field line to give the Pilots a 6-1 advantage.

Peninsula broke the game open with a six-run seventh inning. Back-to-back singles by Shepherd and Carpenter followed by a hit by pitch to Yacyk loaded the bases with no outs. After a wild pitch scored a run, Joe Poduslenko (Seton Hall) drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. Franco Guardascione (Jacksonville) joined in the scoring with a single up the middle. Fernandez drew a walk which set up Cole Austin's (West Virginia) two-run triple. Connor Sorge (Central Missouri) added a run on a groundout to cap the six-run seventh inning.

The Pilots added four more runs in the eighth that was extended thanks to a SwampDogs fielding error that scored a run before Fernandez drilled a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for a three-run dinger to put the Pilots ahead 16-1.

After a day off, the Pilots host three straight games at War Memorial Stadium beginning with a matchup against Petersburg on Thursday night for College Night and Thirsty Thursday. 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!



Coastal Plain League Stories from June 7, 2016


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