Petersburg, Va. – The Yard Gnomes made history Friday night, earning their first ever win in Petersburg with a 10-7 victory over the Tri-City Chili Peppers. A balanced offensive attack featuring RBIs from five different players fueled the win.
Greenville (5-12) wasted no time getting on the board, plating four runs in the opening frame. Corey Berry delivered a bases-clearing double to left, scoring Jacob Green, Brody Gardner, and Jesse Ponce. Jon Howard followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 4-0.
The Gnomes added to their lead in the third. Fuller Morrish singled home Danny Ramirez, and John Kielber drove in Mason Self to stretch the lead to 6-0.
Tri-City (6-12) responded in the bottom of the fourth with a five-run outburst. Jackson Woolwine sparked the rally with an RBI single, followed by run-scoring hits from Jaedan Carter, Cooper Clapp, and Zion Taylor. Ethan Flaugher capped the frame with a sacrifice fly to trim Greenville’s lead to 6-5.
The Gnomes answered right back in the fifth. Morrish plated Self with another RBI single and later came around to score on a Green double. Gardner added a sac fly to push the lead to 9-5.
The Chili Peppers kept it close with two more runs in the bottom half of the fifth as Clapp drove in both Alex Christie and Woolwine.
Dan Bass added an exceptional pitching performance in the late innings to fend off Tri-City. Bass tossed the final four frames allowing just one hit with four strikeouts to secure the save.
Morrish tacked on an additional run in the ninth, scoring off a Balk.
Andrew Hansen earned the win for Greenville, tossing 0.2 innings allowing zero hits. Christian Colmery received the loss for Tri-City allowing six runs off five hits in just 2.2 innings of work.
Up Next: The Yard Gnomes return to Guy Smith Stadium on Saturday night for a matchup against the Wilson Tobs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.