‘Birds Ride Eight-Run Third to Second Straight Win

COLUMBIA, S.C.- After falling into an early hole, the Delmarva Shorebirds exploded for eight runs in the third inning to help spark an 11-8 win over the Columbia Fireflies on Thursday night at Segra Park.

With their two wins over the Fireflies (8-16), the Shorebirds (8-16) racked up back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.

Columbia pushed home three in the first to open the scoring, utilizing three walks, a single, and an error to jump ahead.

Trailing 3-0 going into the third, the Shorebirds sent the first eight batters to the plate in the frame without recording an out. Michael Mantecón started the rally with a single and a Luis Valdez single and Mishael Deson walk loaded the bases. Darell Hernaiz walked to force home a run and Davis Tavárez drilled a single to right to plate another. Isaac De León then walked to force home another run to tie the game at 3-3. Creed Willems bounced a single to center to score another and put Delmarva ahead 4-3. Ryan Higgins unloaded the bases with a three-run triple and Mantecón then capped the eight-run inning by driving in Higgins with a sacrifice fly.

Columbia immediately got two back in the bottom of the third thanks to an RBI double from Guillermo Quintana and an RBI single for Joshua Rivera.

A bases loaded walk to Jaswel De Los Santos got Columbia back to within two at 8-6 in the fifth.

Delmarva re-extended the lead to three on a Mishael Deson RBI single in the sixth before Columbia cut it back to a two run deficit on a Rubendy Jaquez RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

Columbia had one more surge in the eighth as Enrique Valdez drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before the Fireflies stranded the tying run out at second to end the inning.

Delmarva potted two insurance runs in the ninth on a bases loaded walk to Josué Cruz and a dropped third strike with the bases loaded that allowed a run to score to make it 11-8.

Kelvin LaRoche (2-1) picked up the win out of the bullpen for Delmarva. LaRoche allowed two runs on three hits and a walk, striking out four.

Samuel Valerio (0-1) suffered the loss for Columbia after he failed to record an out and allowed eight runs on five hits and three walks.

Preston Price fired two scoreless innings, striking out two while allowing just one hit to earn his second save of the season for the Shorebirds.

The Shorebirds continue their series with the Fireflies on Friday, May 6. Moisés Chace (0-1, 4.63) gets the ball for Delmarva against Rylan Kaufman (1-1, 5.40) for Columbia. First pitch from Segra Park is slated for 7:05 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on theshorebirds.com with Sam Jellinek on the call.

ABOUT THE DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS

The Delmarva Shorebirds were founded in 1996 and have been the Class-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles since 1997. The Shorebirds have won two South Atlantic League championships in 1997 and 2000 and were named the MiLB.com Minor League Team of the Year in 2019 after going 90-48 in the regular season. Based in Salisbury, Maryland, the Shorebirds are proud to represent the entire Delmarva Peninsula and have hosted two SAL All-Star Games in 1999 and 2011. The Shorebirds are owned by 7th Inning Stretch, LP, based in Stockton, California headed by Chairman Tom Volpe and President Pat Filippone.