'Birds Stymied in 5-0 Defeat

HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- The Delmarva Shorebirds could not muster an offensive attack on Saturday night, stymied in a 5-0 defeat to the Hagerstown Suns. A trio of Suns' pitcher limited Delmarva to just two hits in a shutout, handing the Shorebirds their fourth straight loss.

The game began as a pitchers' duel between Shorebirds' starter Brian Gonzalez and the Suns' Jeff Howell. Gonzalez kept the Suns off the board through four innings, stranding multiple baserunners in scoring position. Howell, a 32-year-old converted catcher, puzzled batters with a knuckleball in his Suns' debut.

Hagerstown broke through in the fifth inning against Gonzalez. After retiring the first two batters, Gonzalez surrendered a bloop single to Wilman Rodriguez. Two stolen bases set up Andrew Stevenson's RBI knock to start the scoring. After a walk, Jose Marmolejos hit a three-run home run to open up a 4-0 lead for Hagerstown.

Max Schuh pitched well in relief for Delmarva, though he did surrender one run in the sixth to extend the Suns' lead. Dale Carey singled, followed by a hit-by-pitch to Bryan Mejia. After a double steal, Austin Davidson lifted a sacrifice fly for a 5-0 advantage. Schuh retired the final eight batters he faced with three strikeouts over his three innings.

Howell pitched four scoreless innings in the start for Hagerstown. Mario Sanchez earned the win with three perfect innings in relief, and Koda Glover finished the night with two shutout frames. The three Suns' pitchers retired 21 consecutive batters in between the first and eighth innings.

The Shorebirds and Suns square off for the final time this season in Sunday's finale. Left-hander Tanner Scott (0-1, 5.40) will start for Delmarva against left-hander Connor Bach (4-3, 3.30) for Hagerstown. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown, Md.