Colonial Heights, VA – The Tri-City Chili Peppers beat the summer heat in Friday night’s Christmas in July exhibition game against the Native American National Team. The festive face off resulted in a 16-7 Chili Peppers win.

Pablo Veras (TNCC) started on the mound for Tri City. The Marlins had a strong offensive start with two hits and a home run that put them on the scoreboard. The Chili Peppers wasted no time, with a single by Elon’s Willie Havens followed by three consecutive walks to walk in a run to tie things up. A reach on fielder’s choice and two more walks brought in another two runs to give Tri City a 3-1 lead after the first.

The Native American National Team failed to score in the second and so did the Chili Peppers, who batted three up, three down. The Marlins bats didn’t stay this cold. The team put up three runs, including a two-run home run, in the third to reclaim the lead.

Thankfully, Tri City was able to get their bats moving in the third as well. Longwood University’s Michael Dolberry had the first hit of the half inning with a single. A triple by Connor Butler (Roanoke College) allowed Dolberry to speed home, narrowly avoiding a tag by the Marlins catcher. This triple was directly followed by a home run by Dolberry’s Longwood teammate Greg Ryan that made the score 6-4 in the Chili Peppers’ favor.

Tri City put themselves in a difficult position in the top of the fourth. A Native American National Team double followed by two walks loaded the bases and resulted in a pitching change to Connor Schumann (Old Dominion University). Two singles and a pass ball brought in three Marlins runs. Schumann brought an end to the difficult half inning with a catch that prevented another hit and gave the Chili Peppers defense their final out of the fourth.

The Chili Peppers bats, which have been so reliable so far in the second half of the Coastal Plain League season, did not disappoint in the fourth. UNC’s Brandon Eike hit a double and Avery Neaves (University of  Lynchburg) homered to put Tri City back on top 8-7.

Tri City’s defense made up for the previous inning in the top of the fifth. Schumann allowed only one hit, and the Marlins batter who hit the double was called out trying to steal third.

The Native American National Team brought a new pitcher to the hill in the fifth, but he struggled, starting the bottom of the inning with two consecutive walks. A double by Havens brought the two walked batters around to advance the Chili Peppers lead to three.

The Chili Peppers also switched pitchers to Thomas Greeson (Gordan State College). Greeson pitched three up, three down to maintain the Tri City lead. Hunter Gilliam (University of Kentucky) kept the bats moving in the sixth, hitting a single as the first batter of the half inning. A double by Ryan scored Gilliam, and a single by Riley Motley (PHCC) scored Ryan for a dominant 12-7 lead.

VMI commit Marcus Van Alstine came out of the bullpen for Tri City in the seventh and followed Greeson’s lead with another three up, three down inning for the Chili Peppers pitching staff. Havens had the only Tri City hit of the seventh, but a sacrifice fly by Gilliam allowed him to score. Van Alstine remained at the mound for the eighth, holding the Marlins.

Tri City wasn’t satisfied with a six-run lead. Butler kicked off the bottom of the eighth with a double and Ryan followed with a single. Motley then reached on an error that scored Butler and Havens walked. A single by Kyle Jenkins (Mars Hill) scored Motley, and an error by the catcher brought Havens home for a 16-7 Chili Peppers lead.

Clark Driscoll (VMI Commit) finished the game on the mound, pitching three up, three down to secure the win. Tri City will hit the road tomorrow to face off against in-state rivals the Peninsula Pilots before facing the Pilots at home on Sunday.