Marlins Overpower Yard Gnomes, 19-9, in Seven Innings

Morehead City, N.C. – The Greenville Yard Gnomes fell to the Morehead City Marlins, 19-9, in an offensive shootout Saturday night at Big Rock Stadium. A relentless Marlins lineup saw six different players drive in multiple runs to secure the dominant victory.

Greenville (12-21) opened the scoring in the top of the second inning when Luke Miller singled home Michael Kalinich. Danny Ramirez extended the lead with a two-run single, scoring Joe Siervo and Miller, putting the Yard Gnomes ahead 3-0.

In the third inning, Greenville expanded their lead to 5-0, with Kalinich driving home Nick Palmi on a double and subsequently scoring on another single by Miller.

Morehead City (20-16) surged back in the bottom half of the inning, exploding for seven runs. Tyler LeJeune ignited the rally with a three-run homer. D.J. Pacheco added a two-RBI double, and Bo Tabola capped the inning with a two-run blast to give the Marlins a 7-5 lead.

The Yard Gnomes responded immediately in the fourth inning. Nick Palmi plated Corey Berry on a sacrifice fly, followed by Jon Howard delivering a two-run single to reclaim the lead. Josh Mason extended Greenville’s advantage to 9-7, scoring on Ramirez’s sac fly.

However, the Marlins again erupted offensively, scoring seven more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a commanding 14-9 lead. Nick Serce scored on a bases-loaded walk, and Ronan Donohue cleared the bases with a double, then scored himself on Logan Lowe’s single. Lowe eventually crossed the plate on a Greenville error to close the inning.

Morehead City added five additional runs over the next two innings, sealing the victory and invoking the mercy rule in the seventh with a final score of 19-9.

Andrew Damiani earned the win, pitching two innings while allowing only one earned run and striking out one. Braxton Vackar took the loss for Greenville, allowing five earned runs in just one-third of an inning.

Up Next: The Yard Gnomes look to bounce back at home against the Marlins on Saturday night. First pitch at Guy Smith Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.