Hampton, Va. – The Greenville Yard Gnomes fell to the Peninsula Pilots, 11-1, in an eight-inning contest on Saturday night. Carlos Pena led the offensive charge for the Pilots, driving in three runs on two hits.
Peninsula (28-14) wasted no time getting on the board, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. Pena opened the frame with a solo home run. Chris Martinez followed with an RBI double to bring home Henry Garcia, then came around to score on a throwing error by the pitcher. David Stokely capped the inning with another solo shot to give the Pilots an early 4-0 advantage.
Greenville (17-25) responded in the third, cutting the deficit to 4-1 when Charlie Kapp scored on a sacrifice fly from Danny Ramirez.
The Pilots extended their lead in the fourth as Sammy Mummau came home on a sac fly, then piled on three more runs in the fifth. Stokely scored on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch before Pena delivered a two-run single to make it 8-1.
Peninsula sealed the game with three more runs across the seventh and eighth innings, putting the game out of reach for the Yard Gnomes.
Ethan Hirschfeld picked up the win for the Pilots, tossing three innings and allowing just one earned run while striking out three. Braiden Eagen was tagged with the loss for Greenville, surrendering five earned runs in 3.2 innings.
Up Next: The Yard Gnomes return to Guy Smith Stadium on Sunday to host the Morehead City Marlins. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.