Late Rally Falls Short in 'Dads 5-2 Defeat

Hickory, NC - The Hickory Crawdads offense woke up late and attempted a last minute comeback Friday night against the Delmarva Shorebirds, but the bats provided too little too late as the 'Dads fell to the 'Birds 5-2 in front of 3,153 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium.

The Crawdads entered the 7^th inning without having scored a run in 18 straight innings before Jairo Beras lined a 2-RBI double inside the bag at third to cut the 'Dads deficit in half with a 4-2 score. The Shorebirds picked up an extra run in the top of the 8^th to stretch their advantage to 5-2, but Hickory battled in the 9^th to load the bases with two outs for catcher Kevin Torres. Representing the potential winning run, Torres lined a ball to right only to have Delmarva right fielder Anthony Vega run it down to seal the Crawdads 5-2 loss.

The game began with three straight scoreless innings from both Hickory starter Anyelo Leclerc and Delmarva ace Steven Brault. Leclerc retired the first eight Shorebirds in a row before giving up a run in his fourth and final inning to give Delmarva a 1-0 lead. Crawdads reliever Cole Wiper entered the game in the 5^th and allowed a solo home run to 'Birds leadoff hitter Josh Hart, his first of the year, to double the Delmarva advantage to 2-0. The 'Dads deficit swelled to 4-0 in the next frame, when the Shorebirds utilized two hits and an error to plate a pair of unearned runs.

Following six shutout frames from Brault, Delmarva turned to reliever Derrik Bleaker for his South Atlantic League debut in the 7^th. The 6'5" right-hander began his outing with a strikeout of Ronald Guzman before giving consecutive singles to Evan Van Hoosier and Zach Cone prior to Beras' 2-RBI double to make the score 4-2.

The Shorebirds plated the game's final tally in the top of the 8^th on three hits off of Crawdads reliever Luis Pollorena to put the 'Dads behind 5-2. 'Birds bullpen arm Garrett Cortright was then able to survive the Hickory comeback attempt in the 9^th to end the game.

Brault (9-8) earned the win with six scoreless frames on three hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. Leclerc (2-4) took the loss with only one run given up on four hits, no walks, and 3 Ks during his four innings pitched. Cortright picked up his first save of the season with the bend-but-don't-break 9^th.

Cone finished with his first multi-hit game of the season with the 'Dads in going 3-4 with a run scored. Beras went 2-3 with a double, 2 RBI, and a walk, while Van Hoosier ended the game 2-4 with a run scored.

The Crawdads (29-26) have now dropped their last six games, including back-to-back contests against the Shorebirds (24-31). The 'Dads will look to snap the skid in game three of the four game series Saturday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 pm.

 

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