HAMPTON, VA – The last time the Marlins made the trek to War Memorial Stadium was June 12. That night, Morehead City lost 2-1 on a walk-off single.

Thursday night brought another close game, but this one went in the Marlins’ favor. Morehead City defeated Peninsula, 3-2, in Hampton, VA. The win puts the Marlins just a game behind the Pilots in best overall record in the CPL East.

“This was a big one for us to get,” said Marlins head coach Jesse Lancaster. “We pitched it really well tonight, but I think the most important takeaway of tonight is the mental part of it. The guys have the confidence now to be able to come here and win a game. Peninsula makes you play for all 27 outs, you saw that the way they scored their runs. We just bared down and got it done tonight, which is huge mentally for us.”

Morehead City grabbed the game’s first run in the top of the third inning and never looked back. Sean Johnson (Belmont Abbey) opened up the game with an RBI single that scored Jordan Johnson (Arkansas-Monticello).

The sixth inning was a wild one in the Commonwealth.

In the top half, Zack Miller (Catawba) ripped an RBI double down the left field line, making it a 2-0 Marlin lead. Jeff Wehler (Pittsburgh) extended the lead with a sacrifice fly that scored Hunter Shepherd (Catawba).

In the bottom half, Trey Morgan scored on an RBI bunt single, one of just two hits Colt Webb (Charleston) gave up on the mound. Going into the sixth, Webb was flirting with a perfect game. Erik Stock scored the other run, which was also an RBI single.

Jared Kollar (Rutgers) came on the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning and dominated. The right-handed pitcher struck out two, earning his first save on the season.

Kollar was not the only pitcher that blossomed for the Marlins. In five and a third inning pitched, Webb only gave up two hits, two runs—one earned, a walk and three strikeouts. The performance earned Webb his third win on the season.

Brendan Bean (Penn) had a strong two innings of relief for the Marlins. The southpaw only gave up one hit, striking out three.

Despite only being in the game for a third of an inning, Jack Hodgins (Hendrix) and Matt Hickey (Tarleton State) did their part on the bump. Hodgins only gave up one hit, getting Morehead City out of the eventful bottom half of the sixth inning, while Hickey got the Marlins out of the bottom half of the eighth in just one pitch.

The Marlins improve to 12-3 in the second half, 26-11 overall. Morehead City looks for its fourth straight win at The Rock against Florence. First pitch is set for 7:05 on FloBaseball. Tickets for Friday night’s game can be purchased here.