‘Birds Drub FredNats in 17-3 Romp

FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The Delmarva Shorebirds plated runs in seven of nine frames as they trounced the Fredericksburg Nationals by a final of 17-3 on Wednesday night at the New Fredericksburg Ballpark.

The 17 runs the Shorebirds (5-3) hung on the Nationals (0-8) is the most they’ve scored in a game since plating 20 on June 27, 2018 at Greensboro.

The Shorebirds broke out the lumber in the top of the first inning. Hudson Haskin legged out an infield single and then stole second base. After a strikeout, Gunnar Henderson ripped an RBI double and advanced to third on the play on a throwing error. Jordan Westburg then brought Henderson home with a sacrifice fly to right, putting Delmarva up 2-0.

Two more came across for Delmarva in the second. Jordan Cannon yanked a solo homer down the left field line, his third of the year, to open the inning. Dylan Harris followed by working a walk and then swiping second. Following two flyouts, Haskin reached on an error by the second baseman with Harris scoring on the play to make it a 4-0 Shorebirds lead.

Delmarva put two runs on the board for the third straight inning in the third. With one out, three straight singles from JD Mundy, Harris, and Cannon loaded the bases. Trevor Kehe then drew a walk to force home a run before Anthony Servideo made it 6-0 with a sacrifice fly to center.

The FredNats got one run back in the bottom of the third. Gio Diaz reached on an error to begin the frame and then stole second. After a strikeout, J.T. Arruda lined a single to center, scoring Diaz, and bringing the Nationals to within 6-1.

The Nationals scratched across two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Kevin Strohschein reached on an error to begin the inning and advanced to second on a balk. Zach Cornell was then hit by a pitch before Braian Fernandez laid down a sacrifice bunt. With runners now at second and third, Diaz plated a run with a groundout to second. Jake Boone followed with a walk to put runners on the corners. Arruda then grounded a single that deflected off the pitcher Kyle Martin and ricocheted to the third baseman Westburg who flipped to Henderson covering the third base bag to tag out Boone who tried to go first to third, but a run did score on the play to make it 6-3 Delmarva.

In the top of the fifth, the Shorebirds quickly got those runs right back. Cannon singled to open the frame and Harris followed with a walk. A wild pitch moved both into scoring position before Kehe dropped a double into the Bermuda Triangle down the right field line, scoring Cannon. After a strikeout, Haskin ripped a double into the right center alley, scoring Harris and Kehe and putting Delmarva ahead 9-3.

With the game already in hand, Delmarva pushed three more across in the seventh with RBI doubles from Servideo and Henderson plus an RBI base hit from Westburg.

Four more came in for Delmarva in the eighth as Haskin drove in his fourth run of the game with an RBI single and Henderson drove in three with a bases-clearing double.

Cannon capped off his incredible day by blasting his second solo homer of the game, fourth of the year, in the ninth to make it a 17-3 game.

Ignacio Feliz (1-0) earned the victory in relief for Delmarva. Feliz worked 3.2 innings of shutout ball out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit and three walks while striking out four.

Pedro González (0-2) started and took the loss for Fredericksburg. González allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks while punching out three.

Brandon Young started for Delmarva but did not factor into the decision. Young allowed just one unearned run over three innings, giving up a hit and walk while striking out five.

Six different Delmarva batters contributed at least one RBI while eight batters scored at least one run and seven collected at least one hit. Cannon had the first five-hit game of the season for Delmarva, going 5-for-6 with two solo homers and five runs scored. Henderson drove in five while going 3-for-6 with three doubles and Haskin drove in four in a 3-for-6 performance.

Arruda had two of the three hits for Fredericksburg, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The Shorebirds and FredNats lock horns for game three of their series tomorrow night, May 13, at 7:05 p.m. from the New Fredericksburg Ballpark. Shane Davis (0-0, 3.00) makes his second start of the season for Delmarva against Mitchell Parker (0-0, 4.50) for Fredericksburg.

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 theMiLB.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 and2011. The Shorebirds are owned by 7th Inning Stretch, LP, based in Stockton,California headed by Chairman Tom Volpe and President Pat Filippone.