COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. – Three home runs carry the Tri-City Chili Peppers (2-2, 6-18) to their second win in three game stretch against Peninsula Pilots (3-3, 20-8).
The explosive Tri-City offense wasted no time bringing runs to the plate, starting with the fourth home run of the summer for Logan Jarvis (Belmont). The two run blast was then followed by a single from Hunter Gilliam (Longwood), who moved to second from a wild pitch, and was driven home by Carson Jones’ (Virginia Tech) double to left center field.
On top of the early offense, starter Maddison Furman (VCU) put together one of the best performances from any starter this summer. The southpaw traversed four innings, gave up only one hit, issued no runs and had a pair of strikeouts.
After Furman came Andrew Weight (James Madison) who did surrender a run but kept it at a 3-1 ball game with some help from Cade Swisher (Virginia Tech). The Pilots had runners at second and third, and just one out. The right fielder came charging in to make the catch on a flyout for out number two, and the runner at third attempted to tag up and score but Swisher made the perfect throw to complete the inning-ending double play.
With momentum from the outfield assist, Jarvis returned to the plate and was hungry for more. The lefty bat waited on a curveball and lifted it high and deep over the left field wall to get the run back.
Jarvis’s fifth homer of the year was followed by back-to-back walks and a three run shot from Cole Christman (John A. Logan) to stretch the lead up to 7-1.
Fast track to the top of the eighth, the Pilots clawed their way back to make it a ballgame with a four run frame to bring it to a 7-5 score.
However, the rally would end there as Eli Parks (Liberty) pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth to corral his fourth save of the summer and give Weight the win.
The Chili Peppers get an off day on Wednesday, July 7, before returning to action at home on Thursday, July 8 against the Morehead City Marlins for the front end of a home and home series. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and for more information, check out chilipeppersbaseball.com, and follow the team on social media for all the latest news and updates.