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Tobs Back to .500

June 20, 2011 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Wilson Tobs News Release


WILSON, N.C.- The old cliché of good pitching beats good hitting held true for the Tobs in a 1-0 victory over the Petersburg Generals on Monday Night at Fleming Stadium. Tyler King (ND 0-0, 0.00) was the starter who pitched six strong innings and struck out six and only surrendered one base hit (the Generals just managed two hit all night). Lance Honeycutt and Tony Wieber kept the Generals from scoring in the 8th and 9th to slam the door on a Tobs win.

The game was decided late. In the 8th inning Honeycutt gave up a leadoff single and then a fielders choice/sacrifice bunt put runner on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. The Tobs turned their hopes over to Wieber. Wieber (W, 1-0) came on and promptly struck out the first man he faced for out number one. Austin McGowan then pinch-hit and Wieber got him to hit a shallow fly to center field, for out number two. Wieber un-corked a wild pitch to John Cleary. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and the speedy Cleary at the dish, Wieber forced Cleary to hit the ball on the ground deep in the hole between second an third base, it looked like a sure hit. Angelo LaBruna made a sliding stop on the grounder and fired a seed over to Steve Nikorak for the third and final out of the top of the eighth inning.

The bottom half of the eighth was just as exciting. Ryan Mathews walked (the first and only walk of the day for Petersburg pitching.) After that walk, Petersburg manager Bob Smith quickly lifted reliever Tyler McCarthy. LaBruna laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt (his third in as many games) and moved Mathews to 2nd base. The top of the order was up after LaBruna. It didn't take long after that, Zac Mitchell lifted a 2-2 pitch in to shallow left center field and scored Ryan Mathews on the play. Mitchell slid into second base and the Tobs enjoyed a 1-0 lead. That proved to be the difference in the ball game. Wieber came on in the ninth and in another pressure situation (the tying run on second base) got out of the inning finishing with a fastball that extended the Generals losing streak to eight games. McCarthy (L, 0-2) gets the loss after facing one hitter who he walked. After a horrible start to the season (1-8), the Tobs reached the .500 mark for the first time this season and now stand at 9-9.

Wilson has now won 8 of the last 9 games and has sole possession of third place in the coastal plain league northern division with a plethora of games remaining this week against division foes. The Tobs have ten more games to finish off the first half, eight being against three opponents Edenton, Outer Banks and Peninsula. This next week of baseball will determine the Tobs success in the first half, and right now Wilson is clicking on all cylinders.

The Wilson Tobs will head on the road to Martinsville, Virginia on Tuesday to take on the Mustangs. The Mustangs are currently in last place in the Coastal Plain League West Division. The Tobs will send RHP Gil Walker (1-0, 2.40 ERA) to the mound to face off against RHP D.J. Javins (0-2, 3.18 ERA) for Martinsville. Game time is scheduled for 7:05pm.

The Wilson Tobs are a proud member of the Costal Plain League, the nation's hottest summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 15th season in 2011, the CPL features 15 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats. Players are housed with local families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both the players and hosts. Furthermore, the CPL has had over 930 alumni drafted and 44 alums make their Major League debut thus far. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com, and be sure to friend us on Facebook (at www.facebook.com/coastalplainleague) and follow us via Twitter (at cpleague).

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