SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds couldn't muster the offense against A.J. Alexy and the Hickory Crawdads, falling 3-0 on Wednesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.Alexy (6-8) got the win for the Crawdads (39-26, 68-64) after six shutout innings of three-hit ball; he walked two and struck out 10
SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds couldn't muster the offense against A.J. Alexy and the Hickory Crawdads, falling 3-0 on Wednesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
Alexy (6-8) got the win for the Crawdads (39-26, 68-64) after six shutout innings of three-hit ball; he walked two and struck out 10 batters for the second consecutive start. Brenan Hanifee (8-6) took the loss for the Shorebirds (30-32, 65-64) in his final home start of the season, giving up three runs (one earned) on five hits over five innings, walking one and striking out four. Joe Barlow picked up his eighth save of the season with a scoreless ninth.
Hickory first jumped into the scoring column in the top of the third inning. Justin Jacobs reached on an error at first, followed by a Miguel Aparicio single to put men on first and second. After Jacobs took third on a Bubba Thompson flyball to center, Yonny Hernandez laid a squeeze bunt down the first base line for a single, scoring Jacobs to give the Crawdads the 1-0 advantage.
The Crawdads found more offense in the fifth. Aparicio and Thompson led off with back-to-back singles, and a pair of passed balls allowed both runners to move to second and third. Hernandez drove in the first run of the inning with a single to left, scoring Aparicio to make it 2-0. Two batters later, Tyreque Reed lifted another single to left to score Thompson, but Trevor Craport threw Hernandez out at the plate to save one run, and Ben Breazeale gunned down Reed trying to take second for a double play. Hickory still came out of the inning with a 3-0 lead.
The Shorebirds' only scoring threat came in the seventh inning. Cadyn Grenier started it with a one-out walk, and Seamus Curran and Breazeale managed back-to-back singles to load the bases. Delmarva ultimately came away empty handed, though, as Will Robertson struck out and Mason McCoy grounded into a force at short.
Joe Kuzia handled two scoreless innings for his third hold, serving as the bridge between Hickory starter Alexy and closer Barlow.
Breazeale was the only Shorebird to tally a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk. Branden Becker doubled in the first inning for Delmarva's only extra-base hit.
Hernandez finished 2-for-3 with a sac bunt, stolen base, and two RBIs to lead the Crawdads. Thompson finished 2-for-4 with a run scored in the leadoff slot, as did Miguel Aparicio from the nine-hole.
The Shorebirds wrap up their home schedule in 2018 with the finale against the Crawdads on Thursday night. Luis Perez (4-3, 3.54) takes the mound for Delmarva to square off against Tyree Thompson (7-10, 5.04) of Hickory. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00. Thursday is Fan Appreciation Night, featuring several in-game prize giveaways. Fans can also enjoy Upper Reserved tickets, hotdogs, soda, and beer for $2 each. It's the final KISS 95.9 Thirsty Thursday presented by University Village at Salisbury, as well as the final Maryland Pride Thursday; the team's Maryland Pride jerseys will be auctioned off after the game. Postgame features the last Q105 Fireworks show, presented by Market Street Inn & Mojo's. 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.
