WILMINGTON, NC–The Morehead City Marlins lost game one of the East Divisional Championship Series in heartbreaking fashion to Wilmington, falling 9-8 on the road.
They came storming out of the gates when Jovan Gill hit a double and Bray Touchstone scored them both on a home run in the second inning. The Marlins then added two more later in the inning, taking a 4-0 lead.
The Sharks responded with a home run of their own and cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second inning.
The Marlins plated three more in the top of the second to make it 7-2, but once again the Sharks answered. This time with four runs, making the score 7-6.
Wilmington plated one more in the fifth to tie the game on a dropped ball in left field. The game remained tied at 7-7 until the eighth, when Jackson Sgro delivered an RBI-triple to score Gill, giving the Marlins a one-run lead.
The Sharks again answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, capitalizing on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly, taking the final lead 9-8.
Joey Hiller started the game for Morehead City and gave up six runs to a high powered Wilmington offense.
Gavin Zoeller followed with a solid two innings of work allowing one hit, no runs, and striking out two.
Ryan Jackson recorded two outs before being replaced by Matthew Heard. Heard finished with one hit and four strikeouts in his 2.1 innings.
Kole Hopkins finished the game on the bump, striking out two while giving up the final two runs.
The Marlins will host Wilmington on Wednesday for game two of the East Divisional Championship Series at Big Rock Stadium at 6:30pm. Fans can watch the game on Home Team Network, with pregame coverage starting at 6:20pm.
