WILSON, NC – The Fish Tacos continued their winning ways as they defeated the Wilson Tobs 3-0 on Tuesday night. Noah Covington (Maryland Eastern Shore) got the start and pitched a gem, going five innings while only allowing two hits. The Tacos offense got to work early against the Tobs, putting up two hits against Tobs starter Tony Caldwell in the first inning. Trent Youngblood (Transylvania) and Jeremy Piatkiewicz (East Stroudsburg) singled, but Caldwell got out of the jam with a flyout and a groundout to end the frame. Covington then disposed of the Tobs 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first.
The action began for the Tacos in the Top of the second against Caldwell. The Tacos loaded the bases in the top of the second for McGwire Tuffy (George Washington), who put the ball in play to the Tobs second baseman Colby Ott. Trent Youngblood (Transylvania) was forced out at second on the play, but Chris Mancill (Point) came around to score the first Fish Tacos run of the evening. With a 1-0 lead, Piatkiewicz singled to left to drive in two more Taco runs to push the lead to 3-0. Piatkiewicz then tried to take second on the throw home from left field and was erased for the third out of the inning.
The Fish Tacos would capitalize on the momentum of the three run second inning. Covington would continue to roll on the bump for the Fish Tacos, finishing his stellar scoreless outing only giving up two hits, while walking two Tobs and striking out two.
The Tobs would finally strike in the bottom of the seventh against Kristian Asbury (Troy). With the bases loaded and one out, Elias Stevens sent a ball sailing to Youngblood in right that was deep enough to score the runner from third. In the midst of a 3-1 game, the Tobs weren’t done. With Jarrett Hall (William Peace) in to pitch for the Tacos, he uncorked a high fastball that sailed into the screen. The wild pitch would bring Colby Ott around to score the second Tobs run of the night, but that’s all they would muster in the inning and the seventh ended with a 3-2 Fish Tacos lead.
The Tobs would find another gear in the eighth, as they would rally against Hall out for his second frame. Connor Price singled before Anton Lazits launched a laser over the left field wall to take a 4-3 lead over the Tacos in the bottom of the eighth.
With the game on the line, the Fish Tacos came to the plate against Aaron Moss, looking for the save for the Tobs, who struck out pinch hitter Dylan Rogers (Jacksonville State) for the first out, before Youngblood blooped a ball into center that ate up Mackiewicz in center. Tuffy then stepped to the plate for the Tacos with the game on the line and pelted a ball over the wall in right field to take a 5-4 lead. The home run was Tuffy’s first of the summer. With the lead, the Tacos brought on Sebastian Mejia (UT Rio Grande Valley) to secure the save. Mejia secured a groundout, a strikeout, and a flyout to end the game for the Tacos and complete the comeback victory.
With the win, the Fish Tacos improve to 31-14 on the year. The Fish Tacos will return to the field on Thursday in Holly Springs against the Salamanders. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM. The game will be available to stream on the Marlins’ Mixlr channel.