MOREHEAD CITY, NC  – Saturday night was a heartbreaker for the Marlins in Holly Springs, snapping a 7-game winning streak.

Faced with the same situation leading late on Sunday night, Morehead City got right back to the winning ways, defeating Wilmington, 3-2, at The Rock.

“This was good for us to put last night behind us,” Marlins head coach Jesse Lancaster said. “We’ve seen good progress on the mound the last couple days with two good starts in a row. Offensively, I thought we missed some opportunities to not make things so tight late, and those are things that we have to start executing if we’re talking true championship baseball.”

For the second straight night, the Marlins struck first. Jordan Johnson (Arkansas-Monticello) hit a 441 foot solo home run to left center in the bottom of the second inning.

The Sharks responded in the top of the fifth inning, thanks to an RBI triple from Trotter Harlan. The Marlins got the run right back in the bottom half. Dominick Bucko (Youngstown State) earned an RBI fielder’s choice, giving Morehead City a 2-1 lead.

The seventh inning brought more runs from both sides. Cody Jansen’s solo home run tied it up at two in the top half. But once again, Joe Mason (Mount Olive) was the hero. The outfielder hit an RBI single in the bottom half to give the Marlins the lead right back.

Trey Jernigan (Appalachian State), on his 22nd birthday, came in to pitch a dominant six-out save, and Morehead City never looked back.

Mason went 2 for 3, scoring the go ahead RBI single. Zack Miller (Catawba) also had a strong night at the plate, going 2 for 4.

On the mound, it was a dominant performance than the Morehead City hurlers.

Despite a no decision, Jared Kollar (Rutgers) struck out eight hitters, giving up four hits and an earned run in five innings pitched. Jon Vore (Butler) followed Kollar, going for two innings and giving up only an earned run. Jernigan finished it off in dominant fashion, earning a save with no earned runs and four strikeouts in two innings pitched.

With the win over the Sharks and Holly Springs’ loss, the Marlins lead the Sharks and Salamanders by 3.5 and 4 games respectively in the 2nd half. The Marlins also lead Peninsula by one game, but they only need to finish second to the Pilots to make the playoffs and chase their third-straight Petitt Cup.

The Fish move to 24-11 on the year and 10-3 in the second half. Morehead City looks for two in a row in Florence against the RedWolves. First pitch is set for 7:00. Listen live on the Morehead City Marlins Radio Network.