The Marlins got the bats back on track Wednesday night, as the offense exploded in a 9-2 exhibition win in a 7-inning game over the Wake Forest Fungo. Chas DeBruhl turned in a gem of a start, giving up one run on six hits over five innings. DeBruhl kept the ball in the yard, as all six Fungo hits were singles.
The action began in the bottom of the first, when the Marlins’ Michael Gould and Trent Youngblood singled to begin the frame. Newcomer Braylin Marine got his first RBI in a Marlins uniform as he knocked in Gould and Youngblood to score the first run of the game.
With the Marlins up 2-0, Dan Tauken ripped an RBI double into the gap to score Marine and . The Marlins would roll into the second with a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, Gould reached on an error, Youngblood singled, and Phillip Bernstein would knock Gould in with an RBI single. Marine followed with a 2-RBI double of his own to propel the Marlins to a 6-0 lead over the Fungo after two innings.
As Chas DeBruhl cruised through three innings only giving up three hits, the Marlins offense continued to add on in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back doubles from Leibl and Gould plated another run, but the Marlins weren’t done yet. Youngblood walked, and Bernstein promptly looped an RBI single into the outfield to put the Marlins up 8-0 after three innings.
The Fungo would plate their first run in the fourth against DeBruhl, as Tommy Martinez would hit a 6-3 sacrifice to score Alex Imposimato.
Chas DeBruhl continued to cruise through five innings, as he recorded a 1-2-3 inning in his last frame of work. The Marlins would keep adding on in the fifth as Gould doubled and scored following Bernstein’s third RBI of the night to put the Marlins up 9-1.
Trent Anderson came on to pitch the sixth for the Marlins, and gave up a run after designated hitter Jackson Rutecki reached on an error by second baseman Blake Falor, and scored on a sacrifice fly to right to make the score 9-2 in the Marlins’ favor.
The Marlins bats went cold against the funky right-handed hurler Wesley Driscol in the bottom of the sixth, but they maintained their 9-2 lead. Steven Lacey came in to pitch the top of the seventh and struck out Fungo catcher Jason Jelic before giving up a single to Evan Harding. Lacy then struck out Hunter Stone, and gave up a single to Fungo left fielder Alex Imposimato before freezing Rutecki looking to end the ballgame.
The Marlins finished off the 9-2 win over the Fungo to improve to 2-2 overall, and remain 1-2 in CPL play. They head to Wilmington on Thursday to take on the rival Wilmington Sharks. First pitch from Buck Hardee Field is scheduled for 7PM.