Shorebirds Hang On, 6-3

Salisbury, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds won their third consecutive game with a 6-3 victory over the Lakewood BlueClaws. Delmarva (47-39) stranded the bases loaded in the ninth inning, leaving the tying run aboard.

Delmarva inched out to a small lead in the early innings. Josh Hart, returning to action for the first time since May 28th, singled in his first at-bat back with Delmarva. Hart later scored the game's opening run with a sacrifice fly by Creede Simpson. Drew Dosch added an RBI grounder in third inning for a 2-0 lead.

Lakewood climbed back into the game with two runs off Hunter Harvey. A missed catch by Hart in center field allowed Dylan Cozens to score an unearned run in the fourth inning. Cozens scored again in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Larry Greene, Jr.

The Shorebirds immediately responded in the bottom half of the sixth to retake the lead. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jared Breen hit a high chopper up the middle just past shortstop Malquin Canelo. Two runs scored on the play to lift Delmarva to a 4-2 lead. A throwing error by Mitch Walding helped another run across to make it 5-2.

In the ninth inning, Lakewood threatened but fell one big play short. The BlueClaws loaded the bases with two outs, down 6-3. Delmarva went to the bullpen, bringing on Donnie Hart to face Dylan Cozens. Hart struck out Cozens on a called strike three to end the game.

Hunter Harvey won his third straight start with six solid innings. Jon Prosinski took the loss for Lakewood, while Donnie Hart recorded a one-out save for Delmarva.

The Shorebirds and BlueClaws wrap up their series on Sunday evening. Luc Rennie (3-6, 5.93) will try to lead Delmarva to a sweep, while Yacksel Rios (2-0, 3.18) starts for Lakewood. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 pm at Perdue Stadium.