'Birds Stumble Out of Gate in Second Half

SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds had their offense held in check by the Kannapolis Intimidators to start off the second half, falling 9-0 on Thursday evening at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
John Parke (7-4) picked up the win for the Intimidators (1-0, 40-28) in his seven scoreless innings of work, giving up just four singles and no walks while striking out one. Jhon Peluffo took the loss for the Shorebirds (0-1, 35-33), allowing seven runs on eight hits in five-plus innings, striking out five.
Peluffo and Parke matched scoreless three innings to start things off. In the fourth, Kannapolis led off with a Nolan Brown double, quickly followed by a Luis Curbelo RBI single to break open the scoreless tie.
The fifth inning featured more Intimidator offense. Justin Yurcheck reached on a one-out single, then Tyler Frost pulled a ball just over the fence in right field for a two-run homer, adding on to the 3-0 Intimidators lead.
Kannapolis brought further damage in the sixth. Brown led off the inning with a single and stole second base, followed by a Curbelo RBI single to make it 4-0. Kannapolis picked up three more runs in the inning after two bases-loaded walks and a fielder's choice by Johan Cruz. The Intimidators batted around and moved the lead to 8-0.
J.J. Muno took a bases-loaded pitch off the shoulder in the eighth, forcing in the last run to give the game its final margin.
The Shorebirds managed just five hits in the ballgame and no runner made it past second base. Branden Becker was responsible for two of the hits, going 2-for-4.
Curbelo finished 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs for Kannapolis. Frost went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs.
The Shorebirds continue their series against the Intimidators on Friday night. Cameron Bishop (6-3, 3.36) gets the start for Delmarva against Kannapolis' Parker Rigler (3-3, 4.81). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00. Friday is '90s Night at Perdue Stadium with a special appearance from Dennis Haskins, a.k.a. Principal Belding from Saved By the Bell. It's also a Froggy 99.9 Big Beer Friday and Orange Friday. Pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch app begins at 6:50 with Will DeBoer and Drew Williams on the call.