HOLLY SPRINGS, NC – The Holly Springs Salamanders defeated the Morehead City Marlins Thursday night by a final count of 6-1. Noah Takac pitched all nine innings and recorded nine strikeouts. Takac also retired the first 14 Marlins he faced.
The Salamanders started off the scoring in the first inning when they pushed two across. Justin Quinn and Jax Cash both record RBIs than brought Easton Waterman and Ben Miller home to jump start Holly Springs to a 2-0 lead after one completed inning.
Through four innings Takac was still perfect, not allowing a baserunner with a trio of strikeouts. The Marlins would snap their hitless streak in the fifth inning with two outs. Zack Miller didn’t record a run or RBI, but he was the man that got Morehead City in the hit column.
The ‘Manders took advantage of less-than-ideal pitching in the bottom of fifth plating four more runs to extend their lead to 6-0. Ben Miller blasted a ball over the left field to begin the inning. Cash Young drove in a run, and Jake Gitter would land a ball in the homerun pavilion that scored Young. All nine Salamanders came to plate in fifth.
The teams would trade hits and strand runners in the final few frames, but Morehead City would wash away the zero on the scoreboard in the ninth inning.
Jack Harris, led off the inning with a solo-shot that disrupted the shutout. Harris, now leading the CPL with 14 homeruns, ruined Takac shutout bid.
After the homerun, Takac would strikeout two of the final three to complete the game by himself. Final line for Noah Takac (4-0) nine innings pitched, five hits, one run, NO walks, and nine strikeouts.
The Marlins and Salamanders face off again tomorrow at Big Rock Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00p.m. You can catch the action all year long on flobaseball.tv