Blowfish Can't Hang On in Wilmington
WILMINGTON – The Columbia Blowfish were only one out away from escaping Wilmington with a victory, but couldn't seal the deal. Richie Allen (Eastern Kentucky) hit a walkoff single in the 11th as the Sharks rallied to win 4-3 at Buck Hardee Field Thursday night.
Allen's base knock scored Aaron Miller (Gardner-Webb) from second and gave Wilmington (10-8) its first walk-off win of the season. The Blowfish (7-11) have now lost five of their last seven games decided by one run or fewer. They have also dropped three consecutive walk-off games, dating back to last summer.
Ryan Gunther (Elon) had two outs and a runner on third in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to pick up the save, but threw a wild pitch past catcher Shawn Glover (Erskine), allowing Nate Horton (Presbyterian) to score from third and tie the game. Gunther then induced a foulout on the very next pitch for the third out.
Gunther (0-1) took the loss after giving up one run on two hits in three innings. Wilmington's Blaze Tart (UNC-Wilmington, 1-1) picked up the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 11th.
The Blowfish struck in the first inning for the second straight night. Nick Orvin (Citadel) doubled to lead off the frame, then moved to third after Wilmington pitcher Zach Taylor (Evansville) mishandled a Max McEleney (San Diego) bunt. In the next at-bat, McEleney got caught in a pickoff attempt but was able to elude a tag long enough for Orvin to race home for the game's first run.
The Sharks responded in the second. Columbia starter Ryan Garton (Florida Atlantic) walked Justin Mackert (Citadel) and gave up a single to Matt Willis (Barton) to put the first two aboard with nobody out.
After a Miller sacrifice bunt moved the runners up 90 feet, Nate Horton (Presbyterian) followed with a fly ball to center that plated Mackert. Chris Mazza (Menlo) then hit an RBI single to score Willis and give Wilmington the lead, 2-1.
The Blowfish tied the game again in the third. Ryan McCormick (Millersville) led off with a single, then moved to second on Orvin's groundout. McEleney then drove a pitch into left field to put runners on the corners with one out, and Branfy Arias (Tusculum) followed with a sacrifice fly to center to plate McCormick and even the score 2-2.
Columbia retook the lead in the fourth. David Greene (Citadel) singled and advanced to second after a bad throw from Mazza, the Wilmington third baseman. After a Bryan Hill (Union) groundout moved Greene to third, Shawn Glover (Erskine) hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Greene and put the Blowfish ahead 3-2.
That would be all the scoring for Columbia. The Sharks' pitching held the Blowfish to only one hit in the final eight innings.
Garton pulled several escape acts, working out of trouble for a no-decision in his CPL debut. In five innings, Garton gave up five hits - but only two runs - and left four Sharks stranded. Wilmington's Zach Taylor gave up three runs, but only two earned, in six innings on six hits and two walks.
Notes: The leadoff batter reached in seven innings for Columbia, including the first six frames of the game… Chad Hodges picked off his seventh runner of the season. The next highest CPL pitcher has 2… Columbia returns home to Capital City Stadium Friday for two games against the Sharks. The first game will be a continuation of the game that was suspended due to rain on June 2nd. It will begin with the Blowfish up 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning. The second game will be seven innings and follow approximately 30 minutes after the first.
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