Colonial Heights, VA- The Motorboaters continued their winning ways on Thursday night with their first victory against the Tri-City Chili Peppers. Brian Young started the game for the Chili Peppers, as the contest started with a bang for the Motorboaters. Joseph Mershon (College of Charleston) got the party started with a single. An error by Chili Pepper pitcher Brian Young advanced Mershon, and he came in to score off a batted ball of the bat of Nate Anderson (Gardner-Webb). A subsequent error by Chili Pepper first baseman Krew Bouldin allowed Anderson to advance to second with no one out in the inning. After Young recorded two consecutive outs, Trent Youngblood (Transylvania) slapped a single into the pasture to plate Anderson for the Motorboaters. They would head to the bottom of the first with a 2-0 lead for Will Walsh (Nebraska) making his first Motorboaters start. Walsh would give up a hit, but no damage was done as the Motorboaters would hang on to their lead through the first inning.
The second would roll on in a pitching duel between Wilson and Walsh, as both frames would be done after three batters. An Anderson double in the third would highlight the Motorboater offense, but Young would not allow him to score. A William Bean hit would then give way to a very nice 5-4-3 double play for the Motorboaters infield to roll out of the third unscathed.
The Motorboaters lead would find itself in jeopardy in the bottom of the fourth, as Brandon Eike led off the Chili Pepper offensive half with a double. Walsh would battle back to get the next two Chili Peppers to fly out, before Michael Dolberry hit a solid single to drive Eike in to cut the Motorboater lead in half to 2-1.
The Motorboaters would surge back in the top of the fifth inning, as Mershon once again set the table with a leadoff single. A stolen base and a passed ball put Mershon at third with Michael Gould (Maryville) headed to the plate. Gould smoked a ball to shortstop William Bean, and Mershon dashed to the plate to score the third Motorboater run. The Gould RBI groundout pushed the Motorboater lead to 3-1, and the Chili Peppers would head to the bullpen with two outs in the fifth.
Walsh’s last inning in the bottom of the fifth would be a beauty, as he would allow a single, but a sparkling 6-4-3 double play would get him out of the inning. Walsh’s day would end going five innings, giving up four hits and one earned run, striking out a batter.
The offensive attack would not relent for the Motorboaters in the sixth inning. Braylin Marine (Newberry College) annihilated a ball over the fence in center for his third dinger of the season for the Motorboaters to take a 4-0 lead.
Ty Bothwell (Indiana) made his season debut in his return to the Motorboaters for his second season, and pitched a great inning in relief in the bottom of the sixth, giving up one hit, but not allowing any runs.
The Chili Peppers would come out hot in the seventh, as Bouldin singled to set the table for a Michael Dolberry big blast to bring the score to 4-2.
The offense would continue to be hot in the eighth inning, as Marine and Dan Tauken (Albany) walks and a Marine steal of third would set the table for a McGwire Tuffy (Quinnipiac) RBI groundout to score Marine. With the score 5-2, the Motorboats weren’t done yet. A Mershon walk put two on for Anderson, who smashed a double to the wall to score two Motorboats and increase the lead to 7-2.
The Chili Peppers would make things interesting in the eighth, as a hit-by-pitch and a Danny Estrada monster home run would cut the lead to 7-5. With a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Hunter Stevens (Mount Olive) would come into the bottom of the ninth to close it for the Motorboats. Stevens induced a flyout before striking out the next two Chili Peppers in stupendous fashion to preserve the 7-5 win and earn his first save of the summer.
With the win, the Motorboaters have secured 12 straight victories. They look to continue their momentum on Friday with their first matchup of the season against the Wilson Tobs. The first pitch from Big Rock Stadium is scheduled for 6PM.