Fast Start, Strong Outing From Shane Davis, Propel ‘Birds by ‘Flies

COLUMBIA, S.C.- Although things got dicey late, the Delmarva Shorebirds emerged with a 5-4 win over the Columbia Fireflies on Saturday night at Segra Park.

The Shorebirds (9-17) dominated the early frames against the Fireflies (9-17), only to see their lead nearly slip away in one fell swoop late.

In the first inning, Darell Hernaiz started the scoring with an RBI triple and then scored himself on an Isaac Bellony single.

Another run came across for the ‘Birds in the second. On an attempted double steal where Ryan Higgins was thrown out at third, the Fireflies third baseman, Enrique Valdez, mistakenly threw the ball into the dugout believing the inning was over, only to gift the Shorebirds a run as the trail runner, Moisés Ramirez was granted home plate from second base.

The ‘Birds scored much more conventionally in the fourth. Ryan Higgins took the first pitch of the frame and deposited it over the wall in left-center, his first of the year and of his career.

In the eighth, Higgins crossed the plate again as the beneficiary of a wild pitch to make it 5-0 Delmarva.

Columbia roared to life in the bottom half of the frame. After putting the first two on, a booted groundball allowed a run to score and put runners at second and third. Valdez then blasted a three-run homer to right, his second of the season. Columbia put the tying out at second after a hit batter and stolen base, but a bunt single turned awry when third baseman Noelberth Romero faked a throw to first, catching the runner off of third to record an out and put a squash on the rally.

In the ninth, Daniel Lloyd walked a man with two away, but recorded a strikeout to seal the deal and strand the tying run aboard.

Shane Davis (1-2) earned the win for Delmarva with six shutout innings, a career high. He also punched out a career high seven while allowing just three hits and a walk.

Ben Hernandez (0-2) suffered the loss for Columbia. Hernandez allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks, striking out three.

Lloyd collected his first save of the year for Delmarva by going the final three innings. He allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk, striking out one.

The Shorebirds go for the series win against the Fireflies on Sunday, May 8. Daniel Federman (0-3, 7.71) gets the ball for Delmarva against Luinder Avila (2-3, 5.66) for Columbia. First pitch from Segra Park is slated for 5:05 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 4:50 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.