MOREHEAD CITY, NC – The fish got off to a scorching hot start, and held on in the end for a 5-3 win over the Wilmington Sharks to take an 8-5 lead in the inaugural Golden Chumbucket series.
The Marlins got off to an unbelievable start in the bottom of the 1st inning.
Dom Bucko (Youngstown St) led off with a single, Joe Mason (Mount Olive) singled, and Hunter Shepherd (Catawba) singled off the top of the right field wall to drive in Bucko. Mason came home on a wild pitch, then Zack Miller (Catawba) singled to bring home Shepherd. Conner VanCleave (Pitt State) doubled to bring home Miller, and before Wilmington had recorded one single out, it was 4-0 Marlins.
“Just an unbelievable start,” said Marlins head coach Jesse Lancaster. “It’s pretty rare to be able to string together five straight hits to start a game, and we came out focused and ready.”
As they always do, Wilmington stuck around and kept things interesting throughout.
The Sharks added single runs in the 4th, 6th and 7th innings to cut the lead down to 4-3 before MHC pushed an insurance run across in the bottom of the 7th.
The Marlins pitching staff struggled with walks the whole night. Starter Ty Bothwell (Indiana) kept his strong season going, pitching 4 innings of one-hit ball, giving up just one earned run due to three walks.
“Walking as many guys as we did tonight is unacceptable,” Lancaster said. “We don’t bury teams like we should, and we just gave away some runs tonight. That has to change for us moving forward.”
Logan Campbell (Charleston-WV) got the win, pitching two innings in relief and allowing one hit and one run. Campbell did have four walks and four strikeouts, and was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the 5th.
Nash Bryan (Seton Hill) pitched the 7th inning, and Ryder Yakel (Harding) pitched a perfect 8th and 9th innings to pick up his fourth save of the season. Yakel struck out five out of the six men he faced.
The Marlins continue this long stretch with the Sharks on Monday night at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 at Legion Stadium.