Hampton, Va. – The Greenville Yard Gnomes fell to the Peninsula Pilots, 12-2, in a run-rule loss after eight innings on Friday night. Carlos Pena paced the Pilots’ offense, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base.
Peninsula (15-8) struck first in the third inning when Pena doubled to drive in Cole Raile. Greenville (6-15) responded in the top of the fourth as Corey Berry scored on a throwing error by the third baseman to even the score at 1-1.
The Pilots quickly retook the lead in the bottom of the inning. Jaxon Wall and Kyle Edwards each scored on sacrifice outs to make it 3-1.
Peninsula broke the game open in the fifth with a three-run outburst. Pena stole home, and Edwards added a two-run single to stretch the lead to 6-1.
The Gnomes added their final run in the sixth when Jon Howard scored on a wild pitch. However, the Pilots continued to pile on with a Pena RBI single in the sixth, and capped the night with five more runs over the next two frames — highlighted by a Scotty Young two-run homer in the seventh.
Ethan Blakeney picked up the win for Peninsula, throwing two scoreless innings while allowing just two hits. Greenville starter Jacob Boland was tagged with the loss, giving up six runs (five earned) on six hits over 4.1 innings.
Up Next: The Yard Gnomes remain on the road to face the Wilmington Sharks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.