‘Birds Suffer Setback to Hillcats in Sunday Stumble

SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds could not withstand a late surge as they fell to the Lynchburg Hillcats by an 8-3 score on Sunday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

The Shorebirds (41-30) hung even with the Hillcats (36-35) through the first six innings before Lynchburg pulled away.

The scoring began in the third, when Christian Cairo singled to lead off the inning. Petey Halpin followed suit and stole second base one out later. Cairo scored on an RBI groundout from Yainer Diaz before the inning concluded to put Lynchburg up 1-0.

The ‘Cats came back for more in the fourth. Alexfri Planez singled with two away and Wilfri Peralta tallied his second double of the year to drive him in. After a Cairo lineout, the Hillcats led 2-0.

In the bottom half, Delmarva got their response. Mason Janvrin singled to lead off the frame and Darell Hernaiz doubled to bring him home one out later. Three batters later, Hernaiz scored on the second Lynchburg error of the inning, this time a fielding error on Josh Wolf. The frame ended with the score knotted up at 2-2.

Things got quiet until the seventh. Peralta got things started with a double and Cairo walked to put two men on. A fielding error on Luis Perez brought Peralta across, and Cairo scored while Angel Martinez grounded into a double play. The ‘Cats left the inning with a 4-2 advantage.

A wild sequence occurred in the eighth. The Hillcats brought three more runs across courtesy of four singles, two stolen bases and two wild pitches. Heading to the ninth, Lynchburg led 7-2.

With one away in the top of the ninth, Diaz slashed his 17th double of the season. He scored one out later as Gabriel Rodriguez singled to score him with two away. The ‘Cats led 8-2 headed to the final half-inning.

Delmarva got one back in the bottom of the ninth. Ryne Ogren mashed his second homer of the campaign with two down in the inning to set the final tally at 8-3.

Zach Hart (5-1) earned the win in relief for Lynchburg. Hart worked 1.1 innings and fanned three while stranding both inherited runners on the base paths.

Luis Perez (1-2) was tagged with the loss for Delmarva. Perez worked one inning, allowing two unearned runs on one hit and one walk.

Jake Lyons earned a quality start for the Shorebirds but did not factor into the decision. Lyons scattered six hits and two runs over his six innings of work, walking one and fanning five.

Josh Wolf started for Lynchburg but did not factor into the decision. Wolf worked 4.2 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits while walking four and striking out five.

Wilfri Peralta led the charge offensively for Lynchburg, going 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run scored from the eight-hole. The Hillcats stole five bases in the win.

The Shorebirds hit the road for a six-game set against the Fredericksburg Nationals on Tuesday, July 27. The expected probables for the game have yet to be announced. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on Fox Sports 960 AM and the IHeart app 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.