By: Sammy Johnson

The Pilots won their fourth straight game tonight, beating the Morehead City Marlins 12-6.

Ryan Dooley was the player of the game for the Pilots, going 3-3 with five RBIs and a walk. His success didn’t stop at the plate, as he recorded an outfield assist in the seventh inning, throwing a Marlin out at home to save a run.

Jake Clemente (Florida) struggled in his first outing with the Pilots. The right-hander only lasted one inning, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.

The bullpen picked him up as Luke Ransom (Old Dominion), Trey Morgan (VMI), and Jay Schueler (Southeastern) all had scoreless outings in relief.

Nate Varnier (William Peace) got the win for the Pilots, his first of the season.

Back-to-back homers started the game for the Marlins, jumping them out to a very early 2-0 lead.

This lead didn’t last long, as the Pilots answered right back in the top of the second inning, scoring four runs. Ryan Dooley (James Madison) got the Pilots on the board with an RBI double to the right-center gap. Justin Starke (VMI) gave them the lead later in the inning, taking one opposite field for a three-run home run, his second of the year.

Aaron Manias (Howard College) started the inning with a stand-up triple. Cole Stanford (Lenoir Rhyne) wasted no time to score him, hitting a single in the first pitch of his at-bat, extending the Pilots’ lead to 5-2. Ryan Dooley hit his second RBI double of the game, scoring two more runs.

The Marlins answered back in the bottom half with a two-RBI single up the middle, cutting the Pilots’ lead to 7-4.

However, the Pilots got that run back and more in the top of the fifth. Henry Garcia (Howard College) singled to right field with the bases loaded to score a run. An error by the pitcher and an RBI sacrifice bunt by Ryan Dooley scored two more. The Pilots weren’t done there, as Hunter Cole (Randolph Macon) hit a single past a diving first baseman to score one more. Four runs later, the Pilots were up 11-4.

Ryan Dooley continued his stellar night with a two-out RBI single, scoring Trey Morgan from second.

A wild pitch scored a run for the Marlins in the eighth the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough as the Pilots won 12-6.

The Pilots are back at home tomorrow to face the Wilson Tobs.