Petersburg, Va. – The Greenville Yard Gnomes were unable to complete a late comeback Saturday night, falling 10–6 to the Tri-City Chili Peppers in the first of a two-game weekend set.
Tri-City struck first in the second inning, jumping out to a 3–0 lead, highlighted by Jackson Woolwine’s 2-RBI single to left field. The Chili Peppers extended their lead to 5–0 in the third on a 2-run single from Logan Janny.
Greenville got on the board in the fifth when John Kiebler singled to center, bringing home Collin Hughes. However, the Chili Peppers widened their lead in the eighth inning with a grand slam from Logan Sutton, scoring Jackson Woolwine, Jaedan Carter, and Zion Taylor.
The Yard Gnomes didn’t go down without a fight. In the ninth, Brody Gardner sparked a rally with a 2-RBI single to left center, scoring Mitch Jones and Jesse Ponce. Both Jon Howard and Gardner would also come around to score, cutting the deficit to 10–6. But the comeback bid fell short, as Tri-City held on for the win.
William Wian earned the win for Tri-City, going 5 innings and allowing just 1 unearned run. Maddox Jones took the loss for Greenville, giving up 5 runs (3 earned) over 3 innings of work.
Up Next: The Yard Gnomes return home Sunday afternoon to host the Tri-City Chili Peppers at Guy Smith Stadium at 5 p.m. They’ll stay home Monday night to host the Greensboro Ducks at 6:30 p.m., wrapping up Memorial Day weekend.