Wilson, NC – The Marlins continued their winning ways on Thursday night as they defeated the Tobs 4-0. Stellar pitching and timely hitting led the way for the Marlins as they picked up a much needed win. Nick McCollum (Georgia Southwestern State) got the start as the opener for the Marlins and looked phenomenal in two innings. McCollum walked a batter and struck out four, featuring a lively fastball and a diving slider. Ty Bothwell (Indiana) came on in long relief for the Marlins in the top of the third and induced a groundout and two popouts to begin his night. Bothwell would strike out four Tobs in the next two innings en route to the top of the sixth, which would prove to be the inning that the Marlins needed to get going on the offensive side of the ball.
The Marlins would plate four in the sixth inning. Brandon Warren came out of the pen for the Tobs and walked Trent Youngblood (Transylvania) to start the inning. Dylan Rogers (Appalachian State) was then hit by a pitch to put two on. Dan Tauken (Albany) walked to load the bases for newcomer Jeremy Piatkiewicz (East Stroudsburg) making his debut for the Marlins. Piatkiewicz lofted a fly ball into center that was deep enough to score Youngblood on a sacrifice fly for the game’s first run. With runners at the corners and one out, Brantley Cutler (Maryland Eastern Shore) got ahold of a ball and pummeled it 402 feet away over the high wall in right for his first home run of the season. The big blast gave the Marlins a 4-0 lead that they would not relent.
Bothwell would use the lead to his advantage in the bottom of the sixth and continue to mow down the Wilson order. He would carry the momentum all the way to the end of the game, going seven innings in relief giving up two hits and striking out 11 Tobs.
With the win, the Marlins improve to 28-14 on the year. The Marlins return home to Big Rock Stadium to take on the Holly Springs Salamanders on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7PM. The game will be available to stream on FloSports.