(HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C.) Sunday’s game against first-place Morehead City was a roller coaster of emotion for the Salamanders, who ultimately came out on top 2-1 from Peyton Isaacson’s (St. Leo) walk-off homer on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth inning from Morehead City closer Kenny Wells. It was an absolute no-doubter, nearly clearing Ting Stadium altogether and bouncing out onto Highway 55.

Isaacson’s walk-off homer was a huge swing from the top half of the inning. The Manders were on top 1-0 after eight innings and brought on right-hander Evan Moores (Wright State) to close the game out. With one out, Morehead City left fielder Joe Mason hit a game-tying solo homer just beyond the wall in right for just Morehead City’s fourth hit of the game. All three of the Marlins’ previous hits had come from designated hitter Craig Lewis.

Outside of the homer to Mason, it was a near perfect afternoon for the Holly Springs pitching staff. Riley Myers (Catawba) set the table by going five innings of shutout ball, allowing only two hits and striking out four. Noah Jones (ECU) tossed a perfect sixth, and in the seventh Sam Crawford (Georgia Tech) got the first two outs before handing the ball to Christian Bourne (James Madison) who got the final out of the inning via a strikeout. Mitch Gremling (Wright State) then tossed a scoreless eighth inning before handing the ball to his college teammate Evan Moores.

Despite allowing the game-tying homer in the ninth, Moore’s was Sunday’s winning pitcher, going to 1-2 with the win.

The win was the Manders’ second straight and Holly Springs is now 8-8 in the second half, pulling even in the division standings with Morehead City, who fell to 7-7 in the second half with the loss. The Salamanders moved to 16-26 overall on the season with the win, and the Marlins are now 27-12 overall after Sunday’s loss.

The Salamanders are off on Monday before returning to Ting Stadium to host Wilmington on 7:00pm Tuesday night. #ManderMania

Sunday’s Box Score: https://www.coastalplain.com/sports/bsb/2017-18/boxscores/20180722_4m3c.xml