It had been 301 days since we last saw the Blowfish take the field and they did not disappoint on Opening Day! They scored an 11-9 victory over the Macon Bacon in front of a rockin’ crowd.
Both offenses were rather quiet until the bottom of the 2nd inning. The leadoff batter reached on a walk and it was quickly followed up by back-to-back singles from Blake Martin and Cris Walley. With the bases loaded, Brandon Gibbs drew a walk to drive in the first run of the 2025 campaign. Nick DiCarlo followed that up with an RBI fielder’s choice and the Blowfish capitalized on a passed ball to make it 3-0.
Macon swung the lead in their favor after a big top of the 3rd inning. A pair of two-RBI doubles from Jackson Illingworth and Brayden Leonard, as well as a trio of walks saw the Bacon jump ahead to a 5-3 lead.
The Blowfish offense caught fire again in the bottom of the 4th inning. A towering double to deep left field from the bat of DiCarlo put a runner on second with 1 out. Andrew Ortiz reached base with his second walk of the game. And who else but one of the three-year veterans to drive in a run–Zach Cowart. He knocked his first runner home with a single that crept through the infield. Zander Buchan followed that up with an RBI single of his own, and just like that we were tied at 5.
Cade Bouknight was settling in nicely on the bump and got through the 5th inning with the game still knotted up.
His offense would plate two more runs for the second straight inning after four walks and an RBI sacrifice fly from Ortiz, making it 7-5 Blowfish heading into the 6th.
But, they just couldn’t shake the Bacon. A double from Aiden Arriaga drove in one and he was immediately scored on the next pitch, a two-out single from Kolt Myers. Deadlocked once again, this time at seven a-piece.
However the Blowfish would take command of the game in the bottom half of the 6th and they never looked back. Two free passes were handed out by the Bacon, and Blake Martin took full advantage. Smashing a double to left field, scoring one and putting another runner at 3rd base. From there, the Blowfish tacked on two more after some errant pitches that got away from Bacon catcher Harrison Garrett. They led it 10-7 as the game entered the final three innings of play.
The 7th was a quiet one for both teams, as Lucas Highberger struck out one and then snagged a liner right back at him on the mound.
In the 8th, the Bacon would claw one back on an RBI single from Arriaga, but Hunter Phipps would slam the door on the inning with a punishing fastball at 92 miles per hour.
And in the bottom half of the frame, the Blowfish added an insurance run. Gibbs singled, Thomas Powell doubled, and Ortiz brought Gibbs home with a fielder’s choice. Blowfish led 11-8 with only three outs needed to claim their first victory.
Phipps was still on the bump for the Blowfish. He got the first batter with a routine grounder to Cowart at shortstop. The next batter, Levi Ham, hammered a fastball to deep left center for the first home run of the season at Lexington County Baseball Stadium. Phipps settled back in, striking out Garrett, and getting Hunter Pinkston to ground out to Gibbs at second for the final out.
Blowfish win Game 1 and move to 1-0 on the season! They head to Forest City to play at 6:30 on May 31st. There’s even action at The Lex! It’s USO night with the annual RCSD and LCSD softball game happening at 5:30 and then the Blowfish will take on the Catawba Valley Stars at 7:05! Check it out on FloSports, BlowfishRadio.com, or make your way out to the best ballpark in the CPL!!