Morehead City, NC – Morehead City shone brightly on Monday as they returned as the Motorboaters against the Tobs. It was a back-and-forth game that saw runs come in bunches. Wilson took an early lead against Morehead City starter Noah Covington (Maryland Eastern Shore) when Scott Mackiewicz jacked a ball over the right field fence for the first run of the game to push the score to 1-0.
The Motorboaters would take the lead back in the second inning with the bases loaded when Nate Anderson (Gardner-Webb) would hit an RBI single to left field to score Dan Tauken (Albany) and tie the game at 1-1. The very next at bat, Joseph Mershon (College of Charleston) hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Shayne Campbell (Reinhardt) to give the Motorboaters the 2-1 lead. Bobby Whalen (Indiana) then singled in Mike Kenney (Mount Olive) for the third run of the inning to take a 3-1 lead before he was thrown out at second for the third out.
Covington would pitch five innings of brilliant ball, giving up a lone run on the Mackiewicz home run.
The Motorboaters would carry their 3-1 lead into the sixth inning until Wilson would strike for three runs. With Tobs runners at the corners, Rafe Perich singled to left to bring home Mackiewicz. A hit-by-pitch of Andrew Branson with the bases loaded scored another Tobs run to tie the game at 3-3. Treyton Rank then walked with the bases loaded for the Tobs to take a 4-3 lead.
Ryan Devanney (Sacred Heart) would enter to pitch for the Motorboaters in the eighth and take care of the Tobs in order.
The Boaters would find their offensive mojo again in the eighth inning with a three-run frame. The first run would come across to score after Mershon drove a ball to center that was deep enough to score Zach Marriott (Hendrix College) on a sacrifice fly. With the game now tied at 4-4, the offense wasn’t done yet. Dylan Rodgers (Appalachian State) put a ball in play that Tobs second baseman Andrew Branson couldn’t corral. Anderson flew around the basepath and scored from second, breaking the tie, and securing a 5-4 lead for the Boaters. Rodgers attempted to take second, and this allowed Campbell to score the Boaters’ sixth run before Rodgers was thrown out at second.
The Motorboaters’ three-run eighth set Devanney up for a winning decision if he could lock down the ninth. He allowed a solo home run to Elias Stevens but was able to secure the last three outs to earn the 6-5 winning decision.
With the win, the Motorboaters improve to 23-13 on the year. Following the all-star break, the Marlins return home Friday for a game against the Peninsula Pilots who lead the East in the second half. First pitch is scheduled for 6PM. The game will be available to stream on FloSports.