Two Big Frames Back ‘Birds to 12-6 Win over Hillcats

SALISBURY, MD – The Delmarva Shorebirds snapped their four-game losing streak with an offensive explosion in a 12-6 win over the Lynchburg Hillcats on Tuesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

The Shorebirds (21-42) saw the Hillcats (33-31) strike first to open the scoring in the second inning.

Will Bartlett doubled to open the second stanza for the Hillcats and was nearly stranded aboard, but Joe Donovan singled him with two away to make it 1-0 Lynchburg.

Delmarva responded with authority in the bottom of the second. Trendon Craig walked to start the frame and then stole second, moving to third when the throw went into centerfield. Frederick Bencosme then singled him in to tie the game. Ryan Higgins then walked before Isaac De Leon drove in both runners with a double down the leftfield line. Noelberth Romero capped the rally with a two-run homer to left, his fifth of the season, to make it 5-1.

Lynchburg got one run back in the fourth on a Junior Sanquentin RBI groundout, but saw Delmarva take firm control of the game in the fifth.

In the fifth, Delmarva had seven straight batters reach with one away, as Elio Prado, Bencosme, Ryan Higgins, and De Leon all singled home runs while Romero brought in another with an RBI groundout. De Leon’s RBI single saw another run score after a throwing error on the play, and the ‘Birds plated another on a run-scoring wild pitch to stretch their lead out to 11-2.

Isaiah Greene drove in two with a double for Lynchburg in the sixth to cut the deficit, but Wilkin Grullon smashed a solo homer for the Shorebirds, his first of the season, in the bottom of the inning to steal back momentum and make it a 12-4 game.

Lynchburg pushed across runs on a wild pitch in the seventh and a Jorge Burgos RBI groundout in the ninth, as Delmarva held on handily for a 12-6 victory.

Ryan Long (2-2) fired five quality innings for the Shorebirds to earn the win. Long allowed two runs on four hits, striking out five.

Josh Wolf (0-1) suffered the loss for the Hillcats, allowing five runs on three hits and four walks, striking out one, in 1.1 innings.

The Shorebirds continue their six-game against the Lynchburg Hillcats on Wednesday, June 22 at Perdue Stadium. Carter Baumler (0-0, 1.54) takes the mound for Delmarva against Will Dion (3-1, 1.75) for Lynchburg. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.TV and 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.