Florence, SC- Morehead City moves to 10-2 overall, and 2-0 as the Motorboaters after an 11-3 victory over the Flamingos. Evan Scavotto (Portland) was crowned the player of the game as he had seven RBIs in his four at-bats. The arms shown as well, as Cade Carlson (East Tennessee State)  started for the Motorboaters, giving up just four hits, and two runs in his five innings pitched.

The first inning was a pitching duel as both Carlson, and Flamingos starter Drake Thames saw four batters, while giving up one hit each.

The bats came alive in the second as the Motorboaters scored four runs on four hits. Trent Youngblood (Transylvania) led off for Morehead City and he was hit by the second pitch of the at bat. Braylin Marine (Newberry College) would follow with a single to put two runners on for Motorboaters first baseman Evan Scavotto. Scavotto started his fantastic day as he smacked a double to score both runners with no outs to put the Motorboaters up 2-0. Mike Kenney (Mount Olive) was then hit by a pitch, and McGwire Tuffy (Quinnipiac) would then ground the ball to Flamingos shortstop Connor Schneider for a potential double play. Schneider tossed it to second baseman Mason Staz who stepped on the bag to put away Kenney but couldn’t make the throw over to first, as Tuffy showcased the wheels and made it to first safely. With runners on the corners and one out, Joseph Mershon (College of Charleston) would blast a double into right center field to clear the bases and propel the Motorboaters to 4-0. During the play, Mershon decided to round second base and got caught at third for the second out of the inning. Nate Anderson (Gardner-Webb) hit a single but he would be stranded on base as Phillip Bernstein (Richmond) grounded out.

The Flamingos answered right back in the bottom of the second, as they scored two runs on two hits in the bottom half. Schneider led off and knocked a base hit, Carson Garner walked, then the Flamingos double stole second and third to put both runners in scoring position. Motorboaters starter Cade Carlson did not let that shake him as he struck out Francesco Barbieri swinging. Ethan Krizen came to the dish with two runners on and one out and he slapped a double to clear the bases making the score 4-2 in favor of Morehead City. Carlson faced three more batters, walking one but forcing the other two to put the ball in play to secure the last two outs.

Pitching would reign supreme through the third and the fourth as no runs were given up for either side. Carlson saw just six batters in those two innings going three up and three down twice.

The Motorboaters scored another run in the fifth as Youngblood would single, followed by a Marine base hit to give way to the player of the game Evan Scavotto. Scavotto hit his third RBI of the night as he singled in Youngblood to make the score 5-2 with the Motorboaters on top.

Morehead City pitcher Cade Carlson would pitch one last inning in the fifth and he made it quick as he saw just four batters.

The bats were quiet in the sixth for both sides as Flamingos pitcher Ethan Nors faced just four Motorboaters. Kaden Segel (Portland) came in relief for Carlson and pitched the sixth inning. Segel struck out the side swinging to make a thrilling mark on the game.

The Motorboaters extended their lead in the seventh as they scored two runs on two hits. Youngblood got things started as he reached first on an error, then stole second base. With two outs, Scavotto and Kenney hit back to back doubles to put the Motorboaters up 7-2. 

In the bottom of the seventh Jacob Kroeger (Maryville) came in for Segel and faced five batters giving up the final Flamingos run. Kroeger struck out the first batter in Barbieri, before Krizen blistered a double for the first Flamingos hit in two innings. The second out came from another Kroeger strikeout, this time putting away Staz. Two outs and a runner at second, Alex Rodgers singled to make the score 7-3. Kroeger finished his day by forcing a Noah Stout groundout to shortstop Braylin Marine.

The Motorboaters put four more runs on the board in the ninth, all coming on a two out rally. Bernstein walked to start the rally, Landon Choboy (Mount Olive) would follow with a single, and another walk was thrown by Flamingos pitcher Jake Ogden to put Youngblood on and load the bases. Ogden then hit Marine with a pitch to score Bernstein and make the score 8-3 for the Motorboaters. Bases loaded and Scavotto stepped up to the plate, he cleared the bases with a double to secure his fifth, sixth, and seventh RBI on the day to extend the lead to 11-3 in favor of the Motorboaters. 

Morehead City pitcher Ryan Devanney (Sacred Heart) made his debut and took care of the bottom of the eighth, going three up and three down thanks to a double play from his defense after Luis Rodriguez-Gallo reached first on an error.

After a one-hit no run inning by the Motorboaters, Zane Badmaev (Tarleton State) closed the game out in incredible fashion striking out all three batters.

Morehead City beat Florence 11-3, advancing to 10-2 and 7-2 in league play, winning the last nine games.

The Motorboaters are set to take on the Wilmington Sharks in Wilmington, NC Monday June 11. First pitch is scheduled for 7pm.÷