Wilson, NC- The Wilson Tobs walked-off against their opponent for the third time this season on Thursday night. Down to their final out, the Tobs came out as winners over Morehead City 4-3 in the ninth inning.
The Tobs got on the board in the first frame, as Sammy Sass came home to score on the two-base error. Derrick Carter got the start for the Tobs and made quick work of the Marlins in the first two frames sitting down the 6 of the first 7 batters. Morehead City however, would tie the game at 1-1 in the third on the Marlins 2nd hit of the game. Zack Miller launched a no-doubter over the left field wall, tallying his first homerun of the playoffs.
Skipping ahead to the fifth inning, things got dicey for the Tobs, Carter ran into a little bit of trouble after issuing 2 walks, and Morehead City would drive in a pair off the bat of Ben Watson. After 5 complete frames, the Marlins led 3-1.
Shane Rademacher made a four-inning long appearance out of the bullpen, holding the Marlins scoreless, and striking out a season-high and single-game high 10 batters. Rademacher would improve to 4-0 on the season.
Wilson would claw away at the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Harrison Pontoli scored the second run of the game for the Tobs on the sacrifice-fly from Blake Evans to make it 3-2. Fast forward to the ninth inning, Rademacher strikes out the side to make sure the Tobs only need one run… or maybe two.
Matt Schark would flyout for out number one. Pontoli walked on four straight misses, and Jake Lysaght would advance on a full count walk, moving the tying run into scoring position. Evans would strike out sending Efry Cervantes, the Heart and Soul award recipient for the 2022 season, to the plate. Cervantes would single into left field, scoring Pontoli for the second time tonight to tie the game at 3-3… for about 10 seconds. A miscue from the Marlins catcher sent the ball into left field tying to tag out Lysaght, who would jog in to walk it off for the Tobs. Tobs win 4-3 on the third walk-off of the season.
Wilson forces a winner-take-all game 3 on Wednesday afternoon at Big Rock Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
-Brooks Hill
Director of Media Relations & Broadcasting