SALISBURY, MD - On a cold Saturday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, the Delmarva Shorebirds kept themselves warm on the basepaths, pounding out 18 hits and stomping the Asheville Tourists 18-3.The Shorebirds' (3-0) 18 runs were their most in a game since plating 18 at home against Lexington on
SALISBURY, MD - On a cold Saturday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, the Delmarva Shorebirds kept themselves warm on the basepaths, pounding out 18 hits and stomping the Asheville Tourists 18-3.
The Shorebirds' (3-0) 18 runs were their most in a game since plating 18 at home against Lexington on July 14, 2015. Delmarva is off to its first 3-0 start since at least 2005, when modern MiLB recordkeeping began.
Matthias Dietz (1-0) cashed in on the offensive boon, winning his first start of the year after allowing three runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings. He walked two and struck out six, including four punchouts in a row from the third through fourth innings.
Erick Julio (0-1) took the loss for the Tourists (0-3), allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits in four innings.
After Asheville struck on a Chad Spanberger RBI single in the top of the first inning, Delmarva seized control in the bottom of the first and never looked back. The first three Shorebirds all reached and Will Robertson drove in the first run on a single. After a double play and a walk, Trevor Craport notched his own RBI single to put the home side on top. Seamus Curran then laced a two-run double down the left field line, putting the 'Birds up 4-1.
Curran again provided the spark in the fourth, blasting a two-run opposite-field homer down the left field line to make it 6-1. Zach Jarrett followed by drawing a walk and eventually scored on a wild pitch to add another.
The Tourists got one each back in the fifth and sixth innings. Ryan Vilade beat out an infield single to plate a run in the fifth but overran first base and was tagged out to bring the rally to a premature end. In the sixth, Taylor Snyder lifted a sac fly into left, but Travis Seabrooke limited the damage to just one run.
The dam burst open in the bottom of the sixth as the first 10 Shorebirds all reached base. The eight singles and two walks produced seven runs, and a double play grounder brought home one more to make it an eight-spot, putting the Shorebirds up 15-3. The 15 runs alone eclipsed Delmarva's season-high of 13 runs from last season.
Delmarva rounded it up to an even 18 with three more in the bottom of the seventh. Curran brought home the second on an RBI groundout, giving him six RBIs for the game.
Seabrooke and Nick Vespi combined for 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to keep the Tourists at bay and finish it off.
Curran lit up the box score to the tune of a 3-for-5 night with a double and home run, and his six RBIs are the most for one Shorebird since Gerrion Grim plated six on June 9, 2017 against Kannapolis.
Robertson finished the game 4-for-6 with a double, two runs, and three RBIs. Craport boasted triple threes in the run, hit, and RBI columns. Branden Becker went 3-for-6 with three runs scored in his season debut.
Vilade led the way for Asheville, finishing with three hits and an RBI.
The Shorebirds will try for the season-opening sweep of the Tourists on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Brenan Hanifee, the No. 10 prospect in the Orioles system, gets the matinee start against Asheville's Riley Pint, himself the Rockies' third-ranked prospect. First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. with gates opening at 1:00. The first 1,000 fans through the Perdue Stadium gates will receive a Sherman emoji backpack. Sunday also marks the return of Perdue Strike Out Hunger Sunday, as well as postgame Kids Run the Bases presented by Chili's. It's also another Hit the Books game presented by Dr. James M. Crouse at the Brace Place. Pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 1:50 with Will DeBoer on the call.
