'Birds Storm Back From 7-0 Deficit, Win 9-7
SALISBURY, Md. -- The Delmarva Shorebirds erased a seven-run deficit on Thursday night, scoring nine unanswered runs in a 9-7 victory over the Hagerstown Suns. Delmarva (1-0, 34-35) began the second half with their largest comeback victory of the season.
The Suns jumped out to a huge lead with seven runs in the top of the third. Hagerstown ripped four doubles in the frame and a two-run home run by Dale Carey, forcing Shorebirds' starter Josh Walker out of the game. Mike Burke finished the inning, beginning a string of scoreless performances from the Delmarva bullpen.
The wild third inning continued with the Shorebirds rattling off a six-run frame of their own. Jay Gonzalez delivered an RBI single with the bases loaded. T.J. Olesczuk laced a two-run single up the middle, and Logan Uxa belted a RBI double in his return to the Shorebirds' lineup. Cam Kneeland and Derek Peterson collected RBIs to cap the rally, whittling the Suns' lead down to a single tally. The two teams combined for 13 runs on 13 hits in the third inning alone.
Delmarva completed the unlikely rally with three runs in the sixth inning. Peterson and Elier Leyva drew walks to spark the rally, setting up an RBI single by Yermin Mercedes to pull even at 7-7. Gonzalez flared an RBI single to center to take the lead for good. Steve Wilkerson executed a perfect hit-and-run for another RBI knock, building a 9-7 lead.
Beginning with Mike Burke in the third inning, Delmarva's bullpen was untouchable. Burke combined with Nigel Nootbaar and Stefan Crichton for zero runs allowed on four hits across 6.2 innings. Nootbaar received the win, while Crichton retired all eight batters he faced, including five strikeouts, for his third save of the season.
The Shorebirds and Suns continue their five-game series on Friday evening. Matthew Grimes (5-4, 4.59) takes the bump for Delmarva against southpaw Matt Purke (1-2, 2.45) for Hagerstown. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Md.