MARTINSVILLE, VA - The ball left the bat of Martinsville's Brandon Kelliher (George Wahington) in the eleventh inning and Columbia pitcher John Long (Liberty) immediately hung his head. Center fielder Tyler McBride (Winthrop) made a valiant dive in a futile attempt to catch the ball deep in right center field, but came away empty. McBride, visibly upset, continued lying along the warning track at Hooker Field as the Mustangs' Phil Cerreto ran home to win the game from second base.
In what has been a frustrating year for the Columbia Blowfish, Saturday's game stands out.
The Blowfish left fifteen runners stranded, but still managed to rally with five runs over the eighth and ninth to take the lead, before falling to the Martinsville Mustangs in the eleventh 8-7.
Martinsville starter Trent Rothlin (Mississippi) got out of jams in the first two innings. The Blowfish loaded the bases after three walks with one out, but Rothlin struck out Trent Still (Anderson) and caused Matt Leeds (College of Charleston) to fly out to end the inning. Columbia had two men on board in the second, but Tyler McBride (Winthrop) flied out to end the threat.
The Mustangs got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the inning. John Malloy (La Salle) and Tyler Smith (Mt Olive) led off with singles and Columbia starter Patrick Sullivan (South Carolina) walked David Christy (Limestone) to load the bases with no outs. Matthew Scruggs (E. Tennessee St) then walked to bring in Malloy, and Brad Augustin (Buffalo) grounded into a fielder's choice to score Smith. Sullivan then threw a pitch that got away from Columbia catcher Shawn Glover (Erskine), allowing Scruggs to score and give Martinsville a 3-0 advantage.
Columbia responded with a run in the third. Jeff Jefferson (Liberty) was hit by a Rothlin pitch and moved to second on Still's single. Matt Leeds (College of Charleston) followed with a sacrifice fly to score Jefferson and make it 3-1 Martinsville.
Columbia added another in the fifth. Branfry Arias (Tusculum) led off with a single and moved to third after Rothlin beaned both Jefferson and Leeds. With the bases loaded, Jim Rider (Kent St) drew a walk to bring home Arias and close the gap 3-2. However, Glover grounded into a double play as the Mustangs escaped yet again.
Martinsville extended their lead again in the bottom of the inning. Phil Cerreto (Longwood), winner of the CPL Home Run Derby Monday, hit a two-run shot to score Dylan Holton (Mt. Olive), giving the Mustangs a 5-2 lead. Martinsville got another in the sixth after Christy walked and came around on Scruggs' RBI double to make it 6-2 Martinsville.
Columbia left runners on first and third in the seventh, but got back into the game in the eighth. Matt Williams (Liberty) singled with one out and moved to second after Arias was hit by a pitch. Both runners then broke for a stolen base, and catcher Tyler Smith threw over the head of third baseman Christy, allowing Williams to score. Martinsville reliever Tyler Lehman (Francis Marion) then walked Jefferson and gave up a double to Still, plating Arias and Jefferson as Columbia made it a one-run game, 6-5.
The Blowfish took the lead in the top of the ninth. Derek Smith (Charleston Southern) walked and Catlin Carter (UNC-Asheville) came in as a pinch runner with one out. Scott Wingo (South Carolina) hit a slow ground ball towards first that was missed by both first baseman Cerreto and Holton at second base, allowing Carter to move to third. Williams followed with a two-run single to score Carter and Wingo, giving the Blowfish their first lead of the night, 7-6.
However, the Mustangs tagged Columbia closer Drew Mahaffey in the bottom of the inning to tie the score. Holton and Ryan LaPensee (Wayne St) singled and Mahaffey walked Malloy to load the bases. Smith then lined a shot into left field to score Holton, but Carter fired a throw home to catch LaPensee at home plate and send the game into extras.
The score remained deadlocked at 7-7 until the bottom of the 11th, when Cerreto hit a one-out double, and scored on Kelliher's double to win the game 8-7.
Martinsville reliever Carter Capps (Mt. Olive 1-1) picked up the win after giving up no runs on two hits in 2.2 innings. Long (1-3) suffered the loss after giving up two consecutive doubles.
Notes: It was the only meeting between the two teams... Rothlin had an ugly line score, but pitched well, giving up only two runs in five innings, despite walking six and hitting five Blowfish... The Blowfish did not commit any errors for the fourth time in five games... The Blowfish wll remain on the road as they travel to Wilson Sunday to take on the Tobs at 6:05 pm. Tyler Christman will start for Columbia.
