Martinsville, VA - The Tri-City Chili Peppers were victorious in their Fourth of July matchup, defeating the Martinsville Mustangs 11-9.

Tri-City only had one hit in the first, a double by Virginia Tech’s Lucas Donlon, but three walks and an error allowed them to put up three runs.

The Mustangs also had a dominant performance at the plate in the first. With Conner Butler (Roanoke College) on the mound, the team put up two hits and five runs to take a 5-3 lead.

The Chili Peppers had another hit in the second by Cade Swisher of Virginia Tech, but were unable to score. Butler pitched three up, three down in the bottom of the inning to prevent Martinsville from extending their lead.

Tri City followed in the Mustangs’ footsteps, batting three up, three down in the third. Butler didn’t allow any hits or runs again in the third. Both teams’ bats stayed cold in the fourth inning, during which they both batted three up, three down. The Chili Peppers batted three up, three down again in the fifth. Randolph Macon College’s Wyatt Stanley came in to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and held Martinsville to no hits or runs.

The Chili Peppers had their best offensive performance of the night in the top of the sixth, putting up six runs. Coastal Carolina’s Derek Bender hit a grand slam to put Tri City back on top. A single by Michael Dolberry (Longwood University) allowed Kasten Furr (University of New Orleans) and Brandon Eike (UNC) to score for a 9-5 Chili Peppers lead.

The Mustangs were able to score one run in the sixth inning, but couldn’t keep up with Tri City’s dominant offense.

This dominant offense didn’t follow the Chili Peppers to the seventh, during which they had no hits or runs. Clark Driscoll (VMI Commit) took the hill in the bottom of the inning, allowing one unearned run aided by an error by the shortstop.

Tri City was able to put two more runs by Eike and Ethan Iannuzzi (Randolph Macon College) on the scoreboard in the eighth inning. However, Martinsville was also able to put up two runs with Ned Ruffin (William & Mary) pitching for the Chili Peppers.

Neither team put up any hits or runs in the ninth, ending the Fourth of July matchup in an 11-9 Tri City win.