Marlins Battle to Finish with No. 10 Tufts

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College baseball team fought hard on Sunday, forcing No. 10 Tufts University to extra innings before falling 7-6 in 10 innings in non-conference action.

The Marlins got the bats rolling in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs to take a 3-0 lead. Brandon Kussmaul reached first on a throwing error, later coming around to score on a Deon Hammond single. Following an error on a failed pickoff attempt and a single, Hammond was in position to score on a double play groundout. A solo home run over the left-field wall off the bat of Taylor Erby accounted for the final run in the frame.

The Marlins placed two more runs on the board in the second to extend the early lead. Daniel Petro singled with two outs to extend the inning before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Petro scored on a single through the right side by Kussmaul. Hammond connected for his second hit in as many innings, tripling home Kussmaul for the 5-0 VWC margin.

Jay Crusemire controlled the Jumbos lineup early in the game with four strikeouts in three innings of work before Tufts managed to break through for a lone run in the fourth.

The Jumbos came back to tie the Marlins with four runs in the sixth. The inning was highlighted by a Christian Zazzali single up the middle to score two and a Tom Petry single to right-center that plated another. Each team picked up a single run in the eighth and stellar defense, including double plays from both sides, carried the game into extra innings tied at six.

Oscar Kutch provided a spark for the Jumbos with one out in the 10th as he tripled down the right-field line. Eric Schnepf followed with a single through the left side to score Kutch as the winning run.

Ian Kinney (1-0) set the Marlins down in order in the bottom of the frame to earn the victory for No. 10 Tufts (8-1).

Randy Neisz went 2-for-3 at the plate to extend his career-best hitting streak to 24 games. Kussmaul finished with two runs scored while Hammond drove in two.

Virginia Wesleyan (10-11) will travel to Greensboro (19-10) Tuesday for a 4 p.m. non-conference start.