Pirates take finale with Cardinals on 18-hit outburst

A trio of three-hit performances and the best pitching effort of the season carried the Bristol Pirates to an 11-0 victory on Friday night in the series finale with the Johnson City Cardinals.
The game marked the first shutout for Bristol since August 27, 2018 when the Pirates defeated Danville 3-0. The Pirates' 18 hits against the Cardinals was the most in a single game since a 15-9 win over Princeton on July 7, 2018.
The Pirates took the lead in the second inning when left fielder Chase Murray singled to center to drive in first baseman Ernny Ordonez and make it a 1-0 game. After starting the season 0-for-11 at the plate, right fielder Joseivin Medina tripled to left for his first hit of the season while driving in Murray. Moments later, Medina scrambled home on a wild pitch to make it a 3-0 game. Ordonez added two more runs to the Pirates lead on a single in the third, and a single by second baseman Aaron Shackelford and a sacrifice fly by Ordonez made it a 7-0 game after five innings. Third baseman Matt Morrow would drive in three more runs over the final innings, before another single by Shackelford would cap off the scoring for Bristol.
Trey McGough improved to 2-0 for the season, allowing just one walk with one strikeout over 1 2/3 innings. Starter Santiago Florez matched his season-high with five strikeouts against the Cardinals, allowing four hits and one walk over 4 1/3 innings. Samson Abernathy earned his first career save after throwing three perfect innings with two strikeouts.
Morrow, Shackelford and Medina led the Pirates with three hits each in the win. Morrow finished 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, three RBI and three runs scored, as he set a career-high for RBI while tying his career-marks in runs and hits. Medina went 3-for-4 with a triple, one RBI and a run scored, while Shackelford was 3-for-5 with two RBI. Ordonez finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and a career-high three RBI.
The Pirates (12-11) remain in third place in the Appalachian League West Division, sitting 1 1/2 games behind Johnson City. They begin a seven-game road trip on Saturday when they travel to Pulaski to start a four-game series. Tahnaj Thomas will get the start for Bristol as he faces the Yankees for the second time in a week. In his last outing, Thomas allowed two runs on five hits and one walk over 4 2/3 innings while striking out a career-high seven batters.