Pineville Porcupines defeat the Lake Norman HarborHippos, 13-5, to take the season series

Pineville Porcupines LF Jack Coletti (#18)

The Pineville Porcupines looked to bounce back from another demoralizing loss to the Hendersonville Honeycrisps with a win over the Lake Norman HarborHippos to take the season series, and that’s exactly what they did.

Pineville got off to a quick start with a run in the 1st thanks in part to a double by CF Michael Rogers and a passed ball that eventually scored him from third base. The Porcs wouldn’t stop there, as they built a 5-1 heading into the 5th thanks to back-to-back two-run innings.

The run was begun by back-to-back RBI singles by 1B Corbin Wright and LF Jack Coletti and ended by a solo homer by 3B Lucas Delacruz and an RBI groundout by Rogers.

But the HarborHippos weren’t going down without a fight, as they rallied back in the 5th. The starter for the Porcs, RHP Hueston Gorham, simply ran out of stream after a nice first four frames, walking his first two batters of the 5th before a cascade of mistakes, including three wild pitches, would eventually allow Lake Norman to score four runs and tie things up at 5-5.

But the Porcupines quickly responded, notching their third two-run inning in a row as Delacruz continued his excellent day at the plate by hitting an RBI triple that he ended up scoring off of thanks to an outfield throwing error.

The lead remained at 7-5 for Pineville until the 7th when the Porcs added on two more runs and then really broke things back open in the 8th thanks to a few more errors by Lake Norman that the Porcupines took advantage of by adding four more runs to the lead, making it 13-5.

Pineville Porcupines LHP Tanner Lewis (#4)

LHP Tanner Lewis came in as relief for Gorham and silenced the Lake Norman offense, as he would allow just one hit along with one HBP in 4.1 innings while striking out five to claim the win.

At the plate, it was Delacruz who stole the show, finishing 2-for-5 with two runs, two RBIs, and a home run. His blast made him just the second player to hit a home run at Jack D. Hughes Memorial Stadium this season, alongside 1B Corbin Wright.

The win moved the Porcupines back up to second in the Mountain Division with an overall record of 17-15 and a division record of 15-14 as they took the season series over Lake Norman, 4-2, and will have the tie breaker over the HarborHippos as a result.

Looking ahead, the Porcs have just two games total remaining on the regular season with the first being tonight at 7:00 P.M. at Jack D. Hughes Memorial Stadium against a non-league opponent in the Queen City Corndogs. After that, the Porcupines will finish the season off by hosting the Lexington Flying Pigs the following day.