Pilots Win Ninth Straight
Published on August 5, 2016 under Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Peninsula Pilots News Release
HAMPTON, Va. - The Peninsula Pilots defeated the Edenton Steamers 5-2 in their regular season home finale on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium. The Pilots win (37-16, 18-8) allowed the Wilson Tobs to clinch a playoff spot and pushed the Steamers (26-26, 14-10) on the brink of elimination.
The Pilots jumped on the board early with a run in the bottom of the first. Kyle McPherson (JMU) drew a one-out walk and was plated by a double down the right field line by Kurt Sinnen (ODU).
An explosive fifth inning increased the Pilots' lead to five runs. Nick Walker (ODU) drew a leadoff walk and McPherson doubled down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position. Sinnen walked to load the bases with no outs. Carpenter came up big with a 402-foot stand-up double off the center field wall. The clutch hit scored both Walker and McPherson, increasing the lead 3-0. Hunter Taylor (South Carolina) doubled to right-center, scoring both Sinnen and Carpenter to cap the productive fifth.
The Steamers answered back with two runs in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to three. Richard Cunningham (USC-Aiken) smoked a ground-rule double down the right field line that got caught in the tarp for a ground-rule double. Trey Hair (Evansville) and Aaron Aucker (Middle Tennessee State) both drew walks to load the bases with one out. Tony Rosselli (Indiana State) hit a fielder's choice to McPherson at second, but a throwing error by shortstop Nathan Eaton (VMI) allowed Cunningham and Hair to score.
Chris Gau (Jacksonville) started on the mound for the Pilots, going two innings with two strikeouts and no runs allowed. Left-hander Devin Mahoney (St. Louis) took the hill in relief, adding two more strikeouts to the book and keeping the Steamers off the board for three more innings. Mahoney improved to 5-0 on the season with the victory. Welby Malczewski (Auburn) and Michael Parmentier (NSU) combined to pitch the seventh and eighth innings as both shut the Steamers down setting up the ninth with Robbie Hiser (Norfolk State) pitching a quick 1-2-3 inning for his eighth save.
The Pilots will wrap up the season with two road games at Petersburg with one on Saturday and one on Monday night before hosting the first round of the Petitt Cup Playoffs on Wednesday, Aug. 10 at War Memorial Stadium. Fans are encouraged to wear their orange attire to coordinate with the Pilots rally towels. For more information regarding the postseason, 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 87 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.
Coastal Plain League Stories from August 5, 2016
- Pilots Win Ninth Straight - Peninsula Pilots
- Steamers Walk over Sharks - Edenton Steamers
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