Hampton, VA – The Tri-City Chili Peppers and Peninsula pilots kicked off a series of five consecutive games between the two clubs with a doubleheader Sunday night at Peninsula War Memorial Stadium.
Game 1:
Cole Stanford (Lenoir-Rhyne) brought in the first run of the night for Peninsula in the bottom of the second with an RBI single. However, Brandon Eike (Virginia Commonwealth) got the response for the Chili Peppers in the top of the third inning, dumping a two-strike, two-out base hit into right field, scoring Henry Cooke (Virginia Tech) who reached on a walk earlier in the inning. That would be the only base hit the Peppers would get in the game as Sam Rochard (Tennessee Wesleyan) and Trey Morgan (Virginia Military) combined to strike out eleven Chili Peppers through eight innings.
Levi Huesman (Coastal Carolina) took a tough no-decision despite allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts over five innings.
Chili Peppers batters went down one-two-three in each of their last five innings, setting up the Pilots to walk off in the eighth. Peninsula loaded the bases with a bunt single and an intentional walk. Wyatt Stanley (Randolph-Macon) got one out in the inning on a 4-2 forceout at home plate, but Chris Martinez (University of Science and Art, Oklahoma) followed with a high bouncer to second base that caused a late throw home and brought in the winning run for the Pilots and 2-1 win.
Official Box Score:Peninsula Pilots vs. Tri-City Chili Peppers – Coastal Plain League – boxscore | Pointstreak Sports Technologies
Game 2
Brandon Eike was the big star once again for the Chili Peppers as he blasted two mammoth home runs in the game two, powering Tri-City (9-8) to a 6-3 win over the Pilots.
The Chili Peppers offense quickly changed the tempo in game two, doubling their hit total from game one with two base hits in the first inning but could not bring in a run. The Pilots (5-13), meanwhile, scored one run in each of the first three innings against Tri-City starting pitcher Colin Yablonski (Coastal Carolina) to build a 3-1 lead. The lone Chili Peppers run came in the form of a no doubter solo home run by Eike that cleared the big scoreboard in left field. Yablonski ended up as the winning pitcher, completing the fourth inning before Tri-City went ahead in the fifth.
Tri-City cut the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the fourth with the help of a controversial bunt single by Michael Dolberry (Longwood) that drew a wild throw from the Pilots’ catcher that went out of play up the right field line allowing runners to reach second and third with no outs. An RBI fielder’s choice from Myles Webb (Randolph-Macon) brought in the second run of game two for the Chili Peppers.
Then, Tri-City took its first lead of the night with a two-run fifth inning. Dalton Hurst (New Orleans) lead off the frame with a hit by pitch that would later force him to leave the game, but not before he hustled home from first base on a double to right field off the bat of Danny Estrada (Frostburg State). Two sacrifice flies, the last by Krew Bouldin (Delaware State) brought in Estrada with the eventual game winning run and a 4-3 lead.
Eike cracked his second homer of game two in the seventh inning, a two-run shot for some welcome insurance and a 6-3 lead. It also gave him four RBIs on the night and a total of 19 for the season. He also now leads the Chili Peppers in batting average (.414), home runs (5) and RBIs.
Danny Kirwin (Rider) earned the save, pitching a scoreless seventh inning to preserve a split of the doubleheader.
Official Box Score: Peninsula Pilots vs. Tri-City Chili Peppers – Coastal Plain League – boxscore | Pointstreak Sports Technologies
Upcoming Games:
Tuesday, June 27 (7:00) @ Peninsula Pilots, Listen on Mixlr
Thursday, June 29 (5:30 & 7:00) vs. Peninsula Pilots
Friday, June 30 (5:00 & 7:00) @ Morehead City Marlins, Listen on Mixlr