WILSON, N.C. – Led by Scott Mackiewicz’s 3-for-5 night with three RBIs and Jacob Shapley gutsy ninth inning save, the Wilson Tobs (8-3) picked up their eighth victory of the season with a narrow 9-8 win over the Peninsula Pilots (2-8) on Thursday evening at Historic Fleming Stadium.

The win marked the Tobs’ second of the year against the Pilots in 2023, with the first coming in a 7-4 victory on Sunday in a three-run triumph.

A four-run first helped catapult Wilson to the one-run win. A Mackiewicz solo home run in the home half of the first countered a two-run shot off the bat of Zac Morris to make it a 2-1 game. And then just five hitters later, back-to-back RBI doubles from both Rafe Perich and AJ Jones gave Wilson the early 4-2 lead.

With the game knotted up at four as we entered the bottom of the fourth, a Patrick Fultz RBI single followed by a Chase Waddell RBI base knock made it 6-4 in favor of the Tobs, and after a three-run fifth, it appeared that Wilson was in complete control the rest of the way.

Peninsula would draw closer, though. Flash forward to the ninth, the Pilots were able to place the go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs in the frame, but Shapley proceeded to strike out catcher Cole Stanford to escape the jam and pick up his first save of the 2023 campaign.

Up next for the Tobs, a trip to Morehead City to take on the first-place Marlins for a 6:00 p.m. ET first pitch on Friday evening at Big Rock Stadium. The game will be broadcasted online through MixLr.