Greenville, N.C. – The Greenville Yard Gnomes edged the Tri-City Chili Peppers in a high-scoring battle Saturday night, earning back-to-back wins for just the third time in team history.
Greenville (2-5) jumped out early in the first inning when Jake D’Altrui launched a two-run homer to left, scoring Brody Gardner. Tri-City (4-5) responded in the top of the second with an RBI single from Jackson Woolwine that plated Logan Janney.
The Gnomes extended their lead with runs in both the second and third innings. Gardner singled home Will Applegate in the second, and Jon Howard crushed a solo homer off the scoreboard in the third to make it 4-1.
Danny Ramirez added a sacrifice fly in the fifth, bringing home Gardner, and Applegate followed with a solo blast to right-center to push the lead to 6-1.
Tri-City mounted a rally in the sixth. Cooper Clapp drove in two with a single and later scored on an error to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Greenville responded with a four-run seventh. Howard ripped an RBI double to score Ramirez, Tate Dickinson added an RBI single, and Applegate followed with an RBI double down the left field line. Fuller Morrish capped the inning with a sac fly, scoring Applegate to give the Gnomes a 10-4 cushion.
The Chili Peppers refused to go quietly. Janney delivered an RBI single in the eighth, followed by a Macho Santiago base hit that scored Alex Christie. Janney then crossed the plate on a wild pitch. In the ninth, Evan Bouldin doubled home Woolwine to make it 10-8, but Quinn Holt shut the door with two crucial strikeouts to secure the win.
Andrew Hansen earned the win for Greenville, tossing 1.1 innings and allowing just one hit with no runs. William Wian took the loss for Tri-City, giving up four runs (three earned) over four innings.
Up Next: The Yard Gnomes return to action Sunday at 5:00 p.m. as they host the Morehead City Marlins at Guy Smith Stadium.