By: Sammy Johnson
The Pilots lost to the Tri-City Chili Peppers tonight in a low-scoring affair with a final score of 2-1. Both pitchers were effective in their starts and both bullpens were able to keep their respective team in it.
Tri-City struck first in the top of the second with an RBI single to jump out to a 1-0 lead. The Pilots punched back in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by first baseman Hunter Cole (Randolph Macon) scoring Henry Garcia (Randolph Macon).
Pitcher Trey Morgan was able to get out of a jam in the top of the third, forcing two flyouts in a row with runners in scoring position.
Morgan had a similar start to his last, pitching four innings and giving up only one earned run. He also racked up six strikeouts, three of which came in the fourth inning.
Mason Dunaway (JMU) and Chris Martinez (Univ. of Science and Arts) both recorded multi-hit games for the Pilots today.
Samuel Rochard (Tennessee Wesleyan) had a beautiful outing from the bullpen, going three scoreless innings, giving up only one hit, and striking out four.
Tri-City took the lead in the top of the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly. The Pilots were able to get a runner in scoring position after a single by Henry Garcia but weren’t able to plate the game-tying run.
The Pilots are back on the road to Tri-City tomorrow, June 9th at 7 PM.