Tobs close gap on idle Sharks

The Wilson Tobs summer collegiate baseball team benefited from a huge break it desperately needed on a stormy Tuesday evening at Fleming Stadium.

Wilson, chasing the Wilmington Sharks for a second-place overall finish in the East Division of the Coastal Plain League, emerged with a 1-0 victory against Morehead City in a contest halted in the bottom of the fifth inning by a downpour and serious lightning.

The Tobs plated the run in the bottom of the third inning. Right fielder Hector Candelas drew a two-out walk from Marlins’ pitcher Koen Van’Klousten and scampered home on lead-off hitter Jack Kail’s bloop double. Kail wound up at second base and Candelas scored when the Marlins’ left fielder could not locate the towering fly ball.

“It was the perfect time of night when the ball goes up there and you can’t see it,” Tobs’ head coach Noah Cartwright commented. “I knew (the left fielder) didn’t see it, and I was yelling at Candelas to run! Hopefully, things are changing for us.”

When 4 ½ innings of a game is completed and the home team (Wilson) possesses the lead, the game, by rule, is deemed official.

Tobs head coach Noah Cartwright thanked Morehead City head coach Sam Carroll for his gracious reaction to the situation.

“I told Sam we would wait it out if he wanted,” Cartwright said. “He said ,’We’re out of contention and you’re still in it. Go get it.’”

“We need the win,” Tobs general manager Mike Bell remarked. “We kept playing until there was lightning in the area. But we’re taking a $10,000 bath every time it rains.”

Thus, the Tobs improved to 24-18 overall and closed the gap against the Sharks to 1 ½ games. The Sharks stand 26-17 with three games remaining. The Tobs have four more games on their schedule, including a road test at Wilmington on Friday night.

Peninsula has already clinched the first-half, second-half and overall division titles. Peninsula is the Tobs’ guest Thursday night.

Wilson improved to 9-9 in the second-half standings and travels to Tri-City on Wednesday. The Marlins dipped to 8-12 in the second half and 23-21 overall. Morehead City could still finish a half-game ahead of the Tobs, but cannot catch Wilmington for second place.

Wilson’s plight was not helped with the Sharks’ scheduled doubleheader at Florence of the West Division being rained out Monday. Wilmington did not play Tuesday and is also off Wednesday.

“It puts us in a funny spot,” Cartwright reasoned. “We just have to try to win every game and not worry about it. We can get hot any time, and if we do … It doesn’t take much to do it.”

Despite the game’s brevity, spectators were treated to three freakish developments — including the game-winning play for the Tobs.

The first two Marlins hitters reached on infield singles against starting Tobs pitcher Jacob Dienes, a North Carolina State University left-hander. Marlins lead-off hitter Ben Hamachev hit a bouncer just over Dienes’ outstretched glove and beat the throw to first base. Next up, center fielder Mark Calamia tapped a foul roller outside the first-base line. The baseball was about a foot foul when it suddenly spun into fair territory before reaching first base and Tobs first baseman Cole Robinson could not make a play.

From there, Dienes escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam. Dienes walked third baseman Kamau Neighbors to load the bases, but clean-up hitter Nick Serce blistered a line drive to Wilson first baseman Cole Robinson, and Robinson’s throw doubled off the base runner at second. Dienes added to the intrigue by walking designated hitter Connor Tucker, who promptly stole second. But the left-hander and his defense put a zero on the scoreboard with Dienes’ first of five strikeouts.

“I had a little bit of bad luck, but also a little bit of luck to get out of it,” Dienes said. “I told myself I had to make the best of the breaks I got in the first (inning).”

“(Dienes) really shouldn’t have been in (the bases-loaded jam),” Cartwright contended. “But he settled in and attacked the hitters. They had nothing for him. He looked great after the first inning. He was dominant.”

Dienes pitched to only 10 batters the next three innings, allowing a third hit and finishing with two walks and five strikeouts.

“I just started out not commanding,” Dienes reviewed. “But I settled in and felt good about how I was throwing the ball. I’m glad we got one win closer to the playoffs.”

Dienes revealed his fastball lacked a little velocity,but added: “I went to the change-up and breaking ball off it to get them off-balance. Then I could go back to the fastball.”

Dienes did not  work the fifth inning because of the pitch count, and right-handed newcomer Ben Sieracki, a product of Rocky Mount High and Elon University, was summoned. Sieracki breezed through the fifth.

“I thought Ben looked great,” Cartwright observed.

One Tobs hitter was retired in the bottom of the fifth when the storm unloaded.

“I just handed it off, and Ben was able to get the next three guys,” Dienes said.

The teams played hard, as if a playoff spot was on the line.

“Morehead City was out of contention, and they came out here and played a hard-nosed game,” Cartwright noted.

“We are hanging on, barely in it. But a lot of craziness can still happen. The guys are not ready to go home. They realize how badly the Wilson fans want to win the Petitt Cup. They all know the Tobs might not be here much longer.They want to win it.”

Score by innings:

Marlins 000 00 — 0

Tobs 100 0 — 1

W—Jacob Dienes 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO. L—Koen Von’Klusten 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO. S-Ben Sieracki 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.

LEADING HITTERS — Morehead City: Ben Hamachev 1-3; Mark Calamia 1-2, Casey Kleinman 1-2. Wilson: Jack Kail 1-2, 2B, RBI; Mackenzie Wainwright 1-2.

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