Colonial Heights, VA - The Tri-City Chili Peppers had their home opener of the second half of the Coastal Plain League season on Tuesday night, defeating the Wilson Tobs 9-3.

The fight for first place in the East Division in the first half of the Coastal Plain League season came down to the final few games of the half. Though both were strong contenders, neither the Chili Peppers nor the Tobs finished in first. Now, both teams will look to secure a playoff spot by winning the East Division in the second half. As the first face off between the close competitors in the second half, Tuesday's game at Shepherd Stadium was a big one.

University of Lynchburg pitcher Zach Potts started on the hill for the Chili Peppers in the matchup and was off to an unpromising start, walking the first batter. The next Wilson batter hit a double and the next had an RBI single to make this beginning even more grim. Luckily, this would be the only run in the top of the first. The next two Tobs batters made contact, but the Tri-City defense prevented them from reaching first base. Wilson walked two batters in the bottom of the inning, but the Chili Peppers didn't put up any hits or runs.

Tri-City's defense had a much better second inning, with Potts pitching three up, three down. Hunter Gilliam (University of Kentucky) hit a single to start the bottom of the second and was immediately followed by a single by Lucas Donlon (Virginia Tech). A double by Avery Neaves (University of Lynchburg) brought Gilliam home to even the score. Coastal Carolina's Derek Bender was out at first but his contact with the ball scored Donlon to give the Chili Peppers a 2-1 lead.

An impressive foul ball catch by Bender at catcher accounted for the first out of the third. Unfortunately for Tri-City, this catch was followed by a walk and a two-run home run that allowed Wilson to reclaim the lead. Another home run nearly got away just two batters later, but it was caught by right fielder Willie Havens (Elon) to end the top of the inning. The Chili Peppers batted three up, three down for a quick end to the third.

The Tri-City defense continued to outshine the offense early on in Tuesday night's matchup. A double play aided the team in assuring Wilson didn't score in the fourth. The offense would start to pull their weight in a big way in the fourth inning. In a similar fashion to that of the second inning, Gilliam hit a single to start the bottom of the fourth. He was called out at second on a fielder's choice that allowed Donlon to reach first base. A 427 foot home run by Neaves scored he and Donlon, but Neaves' wasn't the only home run of the fourth. Kasten Furr (University of New Orleans) and Brandon Eike (UNC) each hit home runs of their own, Eike's being a two-run home run, for a 7-3 Tri-City lead.

"Our lineup's a bunch of tough outs," Neaves said. "With that and our pitching, if we keep doing our thing, we're going to have a lot of success."

The Tobs had one hit in the fifth and were unable to put a dent in their new found deficit. Like Wilson, Tri-City also had one hit in the bottom of the fifth, a single by Donlon, but failed to score.

After five innings on the mound, Potts was replaced by Ned Ruffin of William & Mary in the sixth. Ruffin had a strong inning, pitching three up, three down. However, the Chili Peppers also batted three up, three down to keep the score at 7-3.

Coastal Carolina's Colin Yablonski took over pitching in the seventh, following in Ruffin's footsteps by also pitching three up, three down. Havens, Donlon, Neaves, Bender, and Furr all hit singles as the Tri-City offense heated back up in the bottom of the seventh. These five hits brought in two runs to advance the Chili Peppers lead to six.

Another pitching change brought Eli Parks (Howard College, TX) to the mound in the eighth. Parks struggled somewhat with a hit by pitch and walk, but didn't allow any hits or runs. Tri-City batted three up, three down to end the eighth. Wilson had their final chance to rid of their six run deficit in the top of the ninth, but Wyatt Stanley (Randolph Macon College) came in to pitch to assure that wouldn't happen. Stanley allowed one walk but no hits or runs for a 9-3 Tri-City win in the high stakes matchup.

"Our hitters raked tonight," head coach James Bierlein said. "Our lineup is always capable of leaving the yard at any point, and tonight was one of those nights."

After a day off, the Chili Peppers will return to Shepherd Stadium on Thursday for their First Responders game against in-state rivals the Peninsula Pilots.