RAMSEUR — Southpaw Grant Lohmeier limited Carolina to three hits over six innings, while Jacob Lott went three-for-three at the plate to spark Market City’s 11-hit attack, as the Carpenters blanked the Coyotes 4-0 in the tipoff quarterfinal game of the Old North State League post-season tournament Thursday afternoon at I. Fletcher Craven Stadium.
Third-seed Market City raised its season record to 15-11 and advanced to Friday’s semifinal round to meet the winner of the Triad Tribe vs. Piedmont Whitetails quarterfinal matchup, while six-seed Carolina closed out the summer with a record of 10-15.
Picking up the win, Lohmeier walked one and fanned 10, including striking out the side in both the first and fourth innings. Cody Cline came on to toss one inning of hitless relief while issuing a pair of walks and striking out two.
Cline, Rhett Lamoreaux and Saunders Joplin all contributed two hits apiece for the Carpenters.
“Lohmeier has a bulldog mentality on the mound and today he threw as hard as he could to his spots with great success,” related Market City coach Eddie Blonski.
“We were able to move runners up this afternoon when we needed to, and Cline’s two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth put the final nail in the coffin.”
Coyotes’ starter Adam Dossenbach hurled four-plus innings and sustained the loss after surrendering 10 hits and two runs (one earned) in addition to walking one and whiffing four.
Jackson Clark pitched the last two frames for Carolina and gave up one hit plus a pair of earned runs besides issuing one base on balls and striking out two.
“Their starter dominated us the entire time he was on the hill and we couldn’t find a way to hit him,” explained Coyotes’ coach Riley Nelson. “This was a tough way to end the year, as I thought Dossenbach threw well and did a good job scattering hits, but we never give him any offensive support when he’s on the mound as stringing hits together has been a problem for us the whole second half of the season.”
The Carpenters seized a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the first as Lott singled up the middle with one away and moved to second on Connor McCormick’s two-out base hit to left before coming in to score on Lamoreaux’s single to center.
Market City increased its lead to 2-0 in the home third as Lamoreaux grounded a one-out base hit to left, went to second on Joplin’s single to left and advanced to third when Jackson Leck reached on a fielder’s choice prior to continuing home on a throwing error.
The Carpenters then added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth when Lott was plunked with a pitch leading off the frame and Cline followed with a towering blast over the left field fence on an 0-1 offering from Clark for his second home run of the season.