The Zephyrs southern excursion proved fruitful as the baseball team plucked a victory in the Palmetto State to begin their season.

The Zephs arrived at The Ripken Experience, a sprawling complex of baseball and softball fields in Myrtle Beach, SC, last Wednesday. After Mother Nature once again intruded this time it was rain forcing the team to cancel a scheduled practice at the local high school, the Zephs finally got in some practice and a scrimmage before defeating Mars High School (PA) 7-3 on Saturday.

The Zephs began the game with Jacob Meyers on the hill. However, he struggled a bit, yielding three runs over two innings. Manager Shaun O'Boyle said that Meyers "couldn't get it loose," giving way to Jeff Charles to start the third.

Before the lanky senior took the mound, the Zephs cut into the Fighting Planets lead, scoring two in the bottom of the second.

The inning began with a walk to Meyers. Tyler Kline then was safe on an error, followed by a bunt single by Tyler Cyriax to load the bases.

Matt Melosky got the Zephs on the board with an RBI single, and then Ruben Rodriguez hit into a fielder's choice, scoring the second run of the inning.

O'Boyle said that Rodriguez had a great at bat in the inning, battling to stay alive and working a deep count before delivering the fielder's choice that led to the second run.

With the Zephs now trailing by a run, Charles kept Mars from crossing home plate, tossing three consecutive scoreless innings before the Fighting Planets staged a small rally in the top of the sixth to cut into the Zephs lead as a result of a five spot in the bottom of the fifth.

O'Boyle said their big inning began when Ryan Bonshak drew a leadoff walk. Gianni Sinatore also walked, advancing to second on Tyler Bridgwood's infield single. With the sacks full, Jeff Charles hit a fly to shallow right, and as the second baseman and right fielder converged, the two players collided with the ball glancing off one of their gloves before being caught by the outfielder while lying on his back.

O'Boyle said that once it hit the glove, Charles was credited with a sacrifice fly, allowing both Bonshak and Sinatore to score after tagging up.

After that bizarre sequence, the Zephs scored in a more traditional fashion when Cyriax doubled scoring two more runs. The final run came on Melosky's single for a 7-3 lead.

Charles weathered that outburst in the sixth, finishing with a scoreless seventh to earn the victory. O'Boyle said that the key to his success was "throwing strikes." He also got solid defense behind him, highlighted by a big double play in the fourth to keep Mars off the scoreboard.

O'Boyle said it was a good victory, noting that Mars had quality hitters in their line-up. He also said that they were able to rebound after getting handcuffed by a tough lefty, Matt Parrish, who started the game. The bulk of their runs came off reliever Tyler Reginelli who suffered the loss.

O'Boyle said their ability to persevere showed that the team has the mentality to keep plugging away,

"It was a matter of just hanging in there and keeping them within reach," said O'Boyle.

Charles and Cyrix (2-2) each had two RBIs in the win, while Melosky and Sinatore each went 3-for-3.