Shorebirds Turn the Tables, Win 5-4

Hickory, NC- Luis Almeyda doubled home two Shorebirds in the eighth inning to propel Delmarva to a come from behind 5-4 win at LP Frans Stadium on Thursday night.

The Crawdads claimed a 1-0 lead in the third inning as Marcos Torres lifted a breaking ball over the right field wall to put Hickory on top. The homer for Torres was his third of the year and the second this week.

Devin Fitz-Gerald, making his Crawdads debut, reached base on four occasions tonight. His second time on base produced a run for Hickory in the third, as the 19-year-old walked, stole second and scored on a wild pitch, upping the 'Dads lead to 2-0.

A second Fitz-Gerald run in the fifth increased the Hickory lead to 3-0, as Brooks Fowler and J'Briell Easley tossed six innings of one-run ball for the club in their first-half finale.

Delmarva plated runs in the sixth and seventh innings to trim the lead to 3-2, as Delmarva reliever Jacob Cravey was beginning to show signs of locking down the Hickory hitters.

In the seventh, Fitz-Gerald reached on a dropped fly ball to left that allowed the youngster to reach second. On the play at second, the Shorebirds committed a second error on the play, as an errant throw wandered into right field, giving Fitz-Gerald third base.

After a Maxton Martin ground out, Fitz-Gerald raced home on a wild pitch, giving the Crawdads a 4-2 advantage.

However, Dalton Pence would be unable to secure the win for Hickory, giving up three runs to Delmarva in the eighth to fall behind 5-4.

From there, Cravey was stellar, retiring the final nine hitters in order to claim his fourth win of the season.

Pence (3-1) would be dealt his first loss of the campaign, as the Crawdads end the first half with a 33-32 record.

Tomorrow, the Crawdads open the second-half of the schedule with a 7pm first pitch against the Shorebirds.