Spinners bounce back with blowout win
Jun. 17—Splitting four games on a road trip 2-2 isn't usually seen as a bad outcome in baseball, but the Sanford Spinners were glad to get back home Wednesday night. The Brunswick Surfin' Turfs ended up getting turfed in a happy homecoming for the Spinners.
Brunswick scored a run in the top of the first inning for an early lead, and then the train came roaring down the tracks. The Spinners scored 15 runs in the first three innings of play and then cruised to a 17-4 mercy-rule victory, holding the visitors to just two hits.
Sanford (7-2 overall) had 11 hits and 11 walks in the victory, beating the Surfin' Turfs for the second time this season. The Spinners prevailed 4-1 when the teams played here six days earlier.
The team got a solid pitching outing from Jacob Cabaniss, the former Grace Christian of Raleigh standout who now pitches for Barton College. He allowed just one hit through four innings, allowing just the first-inning run, before departing with the game well in hand. Three other pitchers finished up.
That first inning was the only real trouble for Cabaniss, who hit the first batter with a pitch and later issued a walk. With two out, the Surfin' Turfs Nick Chuisano singled to drive in a run, but Spinners center fielder Max Bowers ended this problem by throwing out a runner at third base to end the inning.
And then the fun began. At least if you were there for the home team.
With one out in the Spinners' first, Justin Marshall and Noah Little walked. A misplayed fly ball in center field hit by Kaden Sigmon let Marshall score to tie the game. With two outs, back-to-back singles by Tyson Measamer and Gage Bibey produced three more runs and let Sanford end the inning up 4-1.
Five straight batters reached to open the Spinners' second. Josh Lallo started it with a triple. Vince Sabatino and Noah Kessler walked, with Lallo scoring on a wild pitch. After a single to Marshall loaded the bases, Little walked to force in a run, Sigmon drove another in with a groundout, and after walks to Measamer and Bibey, another run scored.
By the third inning, most of the Surfin' Turfs were probably ready to get out of the Brick City. It was another flurry of walks and hits for the Spinners, with Marshall and Bowers both smashing RBI doubles. The team scored seven more runs and ended the inning with a commanding 15-1 lead.
Sanford head coach Jeremy Palme let Cabaniss pitch one more inning and started giving other pitchers some work. The Spinners tacked on two more runs in the bottom half of the sixth. Brunswick scored twice in the fifth, an inning where Jarrett Orbin came into a bases-loaded, one-out jam and struck out two straight Surfin' Turfs to end the inning; and got one in the seventh before the inning ended. However, that left the hosts with a 13-run lead. The Old North State League has a 10-run rule after seven, so the Spinners got the win.
Several Spinners boosted their batting numbers. Marshall went 3-for-3 with two walks and scored four times. Bibey, a West Virginia native who just completed his freshman season at Potomac (WV) State, continues to impress with a 3-for-4, three-RBI performance. Although stuck on the bench for most of his season at PSU, a JUCO power that went 34-13, he is now 8-for-16 in five games as a Spinner. It was also a big game for Lallo, who played for Methodist in the spring. He was 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and an RBI. Bowers went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
The Spinners had Thursday night off but are back at Tramway Park tonight for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Fayetteville Chutes. Saturday is an off-day, but on Sunday, they'll hit the road and play the Surfin' Turfs again.
