Bobby Leeper was 4-for-5, with 2 HRs. (Courtesy Wilson Times)
WILSON - The Columbia Blowfish got brought down to earth in a humbling manner Thursday night by the Wilson Tobs.
Bobby Leeper (UNC-Wilmington) hit two of the Tobs' three home runs and Wilson (10-6) starter Brennan Dobbins (Central Florida) shut down the Blowfish offense for a 10-0 victory at Flemming Stadium.
Dobbins (4-1) did not allow a runner to reach second base in 7.1 innings, allowing only two hits and striking out eight. Columbia's (5-12) Tyler McBride (Winthrop 2-4) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits in five innings.
The Tobs got on the board early with the long ball. Bobby Leeper (UNC-Wilmington) led off with a double and moved to third on Matt Zeblo's (Belmont) base hit. With two outs in the inning, Matt Johns (Western Carolina) hit a towering shot to left center field for his first home run. Wilson took a 3-0 lead into the second and added more runs in their next at-bat.
Leeper hit his fourth home run of the season in the second to score Aaron Watkins (Barton) and give the Tobs a 5-0 advantage. In the fourth, Wilson's Drake Austin (Des Moines CC) reached on a fielder's choice, moved to second on Leeper's single, and scored on Nic Obey's (North Dakota St) RBI shot into left field to make it 6-0 Wilson.
In the seventh, Wilson took advantage of a wild Brandon Miller (South Carolina) to add three more insurance runs. Zeblo and Jake Astor (Southen Arkansas) walked and Matt Johns followed with an infield single to load the bases. Bryant Lopez (UT Arlington) then hit a single that shortstop Matt Williams (Liberty) was not able to field cleanly, allowing Zeblo to score. Columbia then sent Jeremiah Meiners (Francis Marion) to relieve Miller. Watkins followed with a base hit that rolled up the middle, scoring Astor and Johns to give Wilson a 9-0 advantage.
Leeper added a solo home run in the eighth to make it 10-0. Leeper finished the night 4-for-5 with two home runs and a double. He was a triple short of the cycle.
Notes: It was the fifth shutout of the season for Columbia, and their third at Flemming Stadium... A fielding error by Matt Williams snapped a three-game errorless streak by the Blowfish... It was Columbia's worst loss since June 24, when they fell to Florence 15-0... The Blowfish return home to take on the Wilmington Sharks on Friday at 7:05 pm. It will be College Night at Capital City Stadium. Students with IDs can buy two tickets for the price of one.
