Colonial Heights, VA - In their first second half matchup against in-state rivals the Peninsula Pilots, the Tri-City Chili Peppers pulled off a 12-9 comeback win.

Franklin Pierce University's Chaz Powell was Tri-City's starting pitcher for Thursday night's First Responders game. The first batter he faced hit a single, quickly stealing second and third. The next Pilot at the plate batted him in to put Peninsula on the scoreboard. The Pilots nearly advanced their lead with a home run, but left fielder Avery Neaves (University of Lynchburg) made an impressive catch at the fence to hold the score at 1-0.

The Chili Peppers batted three up, three down in the first for a slow offensive start. Peninsula failed to advance their lead in the second with only one hit. Tri City also had one hit in the second inning, a single by Elon's Willie Havens.

The Pilots were unable to score again in the top of the third, with the final out of the top of the inning coming from a runner getting caught stealing second. The third became a scoreless inning, with the only offensive action for the Chili Peppers coming from a single by Kasten Furr (University of New Orleans). 

A two run home run by Peninsula in the top of the fourth advanced their lead to three. Their bats kept moving as they directly followed the home run with two singles. A second Pilots runner of the night got caught stealing by second baseman David Jeffers (Northwood University) to end the top of the inning.

University of Kentucky's Hunter Gilliam got walked in the bottom of the fourth and beat out a throw to steal second. The next batter, Eliot Dix (Longwood University) was hit by a pitch to place two runners on base with two outs. A balk by Peninsula's pitcher advanced the runners. However, no one batted Gilliam and Dix in, keeping the Chili Peppers scoreless.

Peninsula's offense continued to get things done, scoring another run in the top of the fifth with an RBI single. Another long catch by Neaves prevented a home run to stop the team from advancing their lead further.

Furr reached first on a fielder's choice in the sixth and slid under a tag to take second base. A single by Elon's Kenny Mallory Jr. brought Furr around to finally put Tri City on the scoreboard. A walk for Havens and a single by Neaves scored Mallory Jr. and resulted in a Pilots pitching change. This pitching change was not much help in preventing the Chili Peppers comeback, as it was directly followed by a single by Gilliam that scored Havens for a 4-3 score.

Reed Garland (FDTCC) took the mound in the sixth, allowing only one hit with three strikeouts. Jeffers had the first Tri City double of the night in the bottom of the sixth, followed by Furr being walked. Mallory Jr.'s second hit of the night scored Jeffers to tie things at four. UNC's Brandon Eike was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but the Chili Peppers were unable to take the lead in the sixth inning.

Garland pitched three up, three down in the top of the seventh. The bottom of the inning started with two walks and Furr being hit by a pitch loaded the bases. The Pilots pitching staff continued to struggle. A wild pitch allowed Gilliam to score to give Tri City the lead. After another walked batter, Eike, who leads the Coastal Plain League in home runs, hit a grand slam for a 9-4 Chili Peppers lead after seven.

“I was lucky enough to stay on it and hit it over,” Eike said about the grand slam.

Branden Blankenship of Morehead State University pitched for Tri City in the eighth, during which Peninsula had two hits but were unable to score. The Chili Peppers had one hit in the eighth, a single by Lucas Donlon (Virginia Tech), but also didn't score.

University of New Mexico pitcher Terrell Hudson took the hill for the top of the ninth. Things started off tough for Hudson with two consecutive walks. After the first out, he walked another Pilots batter to load the bases. Following the second out, Hudson walked in a run. A single brought in another run. The Chili Peppers decided to switch pitchers to Wyatt Stanley (Randolph Macon College), who walked in another run to lessen the lead to two. Another Peninsula single brought in two more runs to tie the game at nine.

Tri City entered an unexpected bottom of the ninth and started it off with a walk for Mallory Jr. A strong hit single by Cade Swisher (Virginia Tech) allowed Mallory Jr. to advance to third, but by this point, there were two outs. A walk off home run by Gilliam ended this game in a 12-9 Chili Peppers win.

“I’ve never hit a walk off before in my life,” Gilliam said. “Right before that at bat, I told those boys ‘It’s over. I’m coming up. It’s done.’”

The Chili Peppers will remain at Shepherd Stadium for tomorrow night's exhibition game against the Native American National Team before two consecutive game against the Pilots, where Tri City will look to continue defeating their rivals to advance their record.