WILMINGTON, NC – You can’t win them all.
The Marlins were a prime example of that statement on Monday night, falling to the Sharks, 10-5, at the Shark Tank.
“I was pretty satisfied with the offensive performance tonight,” said Marlins head coach Jesse Lancaster. “We just have to pitch better. We can’t hit guys with two strikes, make two-strike mistakes, and walk guys in the bottom of the order. Stuff like that turns solo home runs into grand slams, and that’s what happened to us tonight. Haven’t been overly pleased with the pitching the past couple days.”
The start of the game went in Morehead City’s favor. Sean Johnson recorded a bases loaded walk to record the game’s first run. Wilmington scored its first run off a 4-3 double play, but Gibson Krzeminski (Canisius) answered with a sacrifice bunt in the top of the fourth.
After that, though, the Sharks erupted.
Cody Jansen drew a bases loaded walk, followed by a grand slam from John Behrends. Wilmington kept it going in the bottom of the fifth inning. Zack Budzik, who led off the fifth with a double, scored via an error. That was followed by an RBI single from Cody Jansen and an RBI triple from David Smith. Smith would keep it going, tacking on an RBI single in the seventh.
The Marlins would score three in the top of the eighth inning, but could not score any more in the ninth.
Despite the loss, a few Marlins had strong nights at the plate. Jordan Johnson (Arkansas-Monticello) went 2 for 3 with a single and a double. Conner VanCleave (Pitt State) and Hunter Shepherd (Catawba) each went 2 for 5 with two singles.
The loss snaps a 4-game winning streak for the Marlins. They will look to start another one Tuesday night, July 6, in Wilson against the Tobs. First pitch is set for 7:10. Listen live on the Morehead City Marlins Radio Network.