CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS TO MONDAY’S PLAYOFF GAME
BLOWFISH CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT
Cola Daily / Thomas Grant
For the second straight year, the Lexington County Blowfish are headed back to the Coastal Plain League Petitt Cup.
The Blowfish defeated the Forest City Owls 10-4 Saturday. The victory clinched the West Division title and enabled the team to continue their quest at repeating as CPL champion.
Ironically, Lexington County did not have to leave Forest City following Saturday’s doubleheader. The two teams open a best-of-three series at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at McNair Field, with game two set for Lexington County Baseball Stadium at 7:05 p.m. Monday.
Game Three, if necessary, would take place back in Forest City.
The winner meets the East Division series winner between the Peninsula Pilots and Wilmington Sharks in the Petitt Cup final starting Thursday. Last year, Lexington County defeated both the Owls and Sharks in three games to claim its second CPL title in franchise history.
Heading into Saturday’s doubleheader at Forest City, the Blowfish had a one-game lead over the Martinsville Mustangs. Both the Asheboro Zookeepers and Boone Bigfoots were also 1½ games out of first place and could have conceivably created a 3-way tie with victories Saturday and Lexington County getting swept by the Owls.
Since Game 1 was a makeup for the July 24th game that was rained out in Lexington, the Blowfish were the designated home team. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning as Landry Mead scored on an error and, with Breon Ishmael on second, Phillip Ard belted a 2-run homer.
After Forest City got on the board in the 5th , the Blowfish loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, River Bluff graduate Walker Mitchell lined a double just inside the rightfield line to clear the bases and make it 6-1.
The Owls cut the lead to 6-3 in the 6th inning. Todd Hudson led off the bottom of the 6th with his first home run of the season. After Gilbert graduate Ashby Vining followed with a single, he advanced to third on a Sam Busch single and scored on Mead’s double.
Ishmael cleared the bases with a 2-run single but was thrown out trying to reach second base. Forest City picked up a run on a sacrifice fly in the 7th, but the game ended with a flyout.
The Owls won game two by a 5-0 score to finish 26-19 overall, 11-12 in the second half. Lexington County finished 26-22 overall, 16-8 in the second half.
Tickets for the playoff game in Lexington are available at goblowfishbaseball.com.
