HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker Cobras were held scoreless in 19 innings of baseball action on Saturday afternoon, as the Pfeiffer Falcons picked up a pair of shutout victories over the Cobras with a 1-0 12 inning win in game one of their doubleheader and a 4-0 win in game two.
The wins move the Falcons into fourth place in the Conference Carolinas standings, while the pair of losses drops Coker to seventh place. The top six teams advance to the conference tournament next week in Wilson, N.C.
GAME ONE
Game one was all about pitching on both sides of the field. There were a combined six hits and just one run scored over 12 innings of play with the Falcons plating the game winning run in the top of the 12th with a two out RBI single by Preston Lyon (Gastonia, N.C.) that scored Eric Shoemaker (Huntersville, N.C.) from second base.
Both starting pitchers were masterful on the mound as Coker’s Tyler Witzel (Melbourne, Fla.) went nine full innings allowing just one hit with six strikeouts, while Pfeiffer’s Eric Shuford (Shelby, N.C.) went 10 innings allowing just two hits with five punch outs.
Luke Wilhelm (Lexington, N.C.) (1-3) got the win tossing two innings of scoreless and hitless baseball for the Falcons. Chris Garica (Miami, Fla.) (1-1) suffered the loss. He gave up one run on three hits in three innings of work.
Fico Kondla (Miami, Fla.) and Witzel had the only two hits for the Cobras, while Jon Gray (Granite Falls, N.C.), Shoemaker, Lyon and Aarin Sharpe (Winterville, N.C.) each had a hit for the Falcons.
GAME TWO
In game two the fans got to see another dominating performance on the mound as Pfeiffer’s Bryan Tuttle (Lenoir, N.C.) was nearly unhittable. Tuttle (6-3) earned the win as he tossed a complete game shutout, scattering four hits and striking out 11 batters in seven innings of work.
The Falcons plated a run in the third and another in the fifth inning to take the 2-0 lead, before adding two more runs in the top of the seventh to make it 4-0.
Coker’s Sean Tracy (Farmingville, N.Y.) (2-7) took the loss. He went 4.1 innings allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
Jacob Yates (Blairs, Va.) and Sharpe each had a pair of hits with two runs scored for the Falcons, while Mike Green (Brandon, Fla.) was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Gray added a triple to the Falcon offense and Tyler Smith (Locust, N.C.) drove in a run.
For the Cobras, Dan Hiatt (Elwood, Ind.) had a double, with Dyson Coker (Turbeville, S.C.), Matt Ammons (Chester, S.C.) and Witzel each picking up a hit.
The Cobras and the Falcons will complete their three-game weekend series on Sunday with a single game starting at noon. It will be the final home game for the Cobras this season, so they will honor their five senior players prior to the start of the game with a special Senior Day ceremony.