Kannapolis Evens Series With Delmarva, 5-3

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- The Delmarva Shorebirds fell to the Kannapolis Intimidators on Friday night by a final score of 5-3. Kannapolis capitalized on a few errors and hit a pair of solo home runs to even the series at one game apiece.

Delmarva struck first with a two-out rally in the opening frame. After T.J. Olesczuk reached on a single, Conor Bierfeldt bounced an RBI double just inside the third base line. Moments later, Jomar Reyes lined an RBI single into left for a 2-0 lead.

Kannapolis immediately responded to tie the game in the bottom half. After a leadoff single by Eddy Alvarez, Christian Stringer hit a hard bouncer to first base. The ball nicked off Riley Palmer's glove into right field, and then Elier Leyva misplayed the hit, allowing Stringer all the way to third base. Stringer later scored on an RBI grounder to knot the score at 2-2.

Stringer put the Intimidators on top with a solo home run in the third, his first of the year. Another miscue, a throwing error by Jared Breen, helped bring across another Kannapolis run in the fourth.

Down 4-2, Delmarva missed their best chance for a comeback in the fifth inning. Jay Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk, followed by a single by Cam Kneeland. Olesczuk drilled an RBI single to cut the Intimidators' lead to 4-3. With runners on the corners and no outs, Thad Lowry escaped the jam with a strikeout and a double play grounder.

Louie Lechich blasted another solo home run for Kannapolis in the bottom of the fifth, pushing the Kannapolis back out to two runs, 5-3. The Shorebirds managed just two hits after the fifth inning, as Jacob Morris and Matt Cooper finished off the night for Kannapolis.

Brian Gonzalez suffered his third straight loss, even though just three of the five runs were earned. Lowry improved to 6-2 with a quality start, while Cooper earned his fourth save for the Intimidators.

Olesczuk led the way offensively for the second straight night, going 3-for-4 in the defeat. The outfielder has collected six hits and five RBIs in his first two games as a Shorebird.

Delmarva and Kannapolis square off in game three of the four-game set on Saturday evening. Right-hander Matthew Grimes (3-3, 5.03) gets the ball for the Shorebirds against right-hander Yency Almonte (4-2, 4.35) for Kannapolis. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Intimidators Stadium.