Marlins Crowned 2018 CPL Champions
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – The Morehead City Marlins (38-14) capped off their most historic season in franchise history with a 7-4 victory over High Point-Thomasville (32-19) to secure the franchise's first ever Coastal Plain League Petitt Cup Championship.
After the HiToms struck first with a run in the first, Will Johnson (Eastern Kentucky) drew a walk to start the Marlins half of the opening frame. Craig Lewis (Seton Hill) then blasted his fourth home run of the summer to give Morehead City a 2-1 lead.
Evan Lumbert (Florida Gulf Coast) made his fifth start of the season and earned his third win. Working around the powerful HiToms lineup, Lumbert allowed six hits and struck out three.
High Point-Thomasville notched their second solo home run and third run of the game in the top of the second. The Marlins would again respond in the bottom half of the inning after Colin Allman (Newberry College) drew a walk that was followed by singles from Brendan Dougherty (Bradley University) and Bryce Delevie (Columbus State) to load the bases. A sacrifice fly from Alex Pimentel brought Allman into tie the score at three. A bases clearing triple from Lewis pushed Morehead City ahead 5-3.
The offense kept its pace in the third after Joe Mason (Pitt CC) made it three-consecutive innings for the Marlins that began by drawing a walk. A double from Allman brought Mason into score the team's sixth run of the contest.
Right-hander Dawson Moser (Arkansas-Monticello) came on in the sixth after the HiToms had trimmed the lead to 6-4. Moser boasted three strike outs and a ground out, facing the minimum of five batters in 1.2 innings.
Brandon Marklund (Bryan College) made his team-best 26th appearance and notched two punch outs in the frame.
Dougherty's one-out single in the eighth sparked the offense. Riley Campbell (University of Toledo) came on as a pinch runner and was moved to second on a Delevie ground ball, before taking third on a wild pitch. Johnson then laced a single through the left side of the infield to score an insurance run and give Morehead City a 7-4 advantage.
Zach Vennaro (University of Mount Olive) earned his second save of the summer with three ground outs to secure Morehead City's first ever championship.
Team Records: Morehead City (38-14), High Point-Thomasville (32-19)
News & Notes:
The Marlins swept the Petitt Cup Playoffs en route to the franchise's first ever title.
Morehead City finishes the year with a club record 38 wins.
The team improved to 32-0 when leading after the seventh inning.
Tonight's game brought in 2,103 fans to Big Rock Stadium
Morehead City is now 4-0 all-time versus the HiToms.