Greenville, N.C. – The Forest City Owls defeated the Greenville Yard Gnomes 14-4 in seven innings Thursday night at Guy Smith Stadium. Malachi Gales led the way for Forest City with four RBIs, including a grand slam to put the game out of reach.
Forest City (10-4) got on the board early in the first inning as Cade Fuller doubled down the left field line, scoring Frank Kelly to give the Owls a 1-0 lead.
Greenville (4-12) responded quickly in the bottom half. Jesse Ponce drove in Jacob Green with a single to right, and Jon Howard followed with a soft liner to center that scored Ponce, giving the Yard Gnomes a 2-1 edge heading into the second.
The Owls retook the lead in the third. Kelly tied the game after scoring on a catcher error, and Gales added an RBI single to plate Gavin Gilmore. Fuller then came home on another Greenville miscue, pushing Forest City ahead 4-2.
Forest City extended their lead in the fourth. Matthew Lively scored on a sacrifice fly, and Ty Sessoms delivered a two-run single to bring in Turner and Gilmore, stretching the lead to 7-2.
The Owls continued to add on in the fifth. Jaden James scored on a high chopper through the infield, and Kelly’s sac fly plated Lively to make it 9-2.
The Yard Gnomes cut into the lead in the middle frames. In the fifth, Brody Gardner singled to left to bring in Michael Kalinich. In the sixth, Danny Ramirez drove in Jon Howard with a sac fly to cut the deficit to 9-4.
But Forest City slammed the door in the seventh. Gales crushed a grand slam to left-center, and James added an RBI single to cap off a five-run inning that invoked the run-rule at 14-4.
Nick Napolitano earned the win for Forest City tossing 4.1 innings and allowing three runs off seven hits. Gavin Wilson receives the loss for Greenville allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits in just 0.2 innings of work.
Up Next: The Yard Gnomes hit the road to face the Tri-City Chili Peppers on Friday night at Shepherd Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.