HICKORY, NC - Bubba Thompson lined a walkoff single to center in the bottom of the 10th, lifting the Hickory Crawdads to a 2-1 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds on Monday night at L.P. Frans Stadium.After the Shorebirds (26-16) failed to get their free runner across the plate, the Crawdads
HICKORY, NC - Bubba Thompson lined a walkoff single to center in the bottom of the 10th, lifting the Hickory Crawdads to a 2-1 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds on Monday night at L.P. Frans Stadium.
After the Shorebirds (26-16) failed to get their free runner across the plate, the Crawdads (15-24) moved Kole Enright from second to third on a sac bunt from Ryan Dorow. Thompson came up next, and the Rangers' most recent first-round pick lashed a 2-0 pitch into center field, bringing Enright home to end it.
Sal Mendez (3-3) vultured the win after blowing the save in the ninth but still finished with two scoreless innings in relief. Nick Vespi (0-1) took the loss after allowing the unearned game-winning run.
Preceded by a 42-minute rain delay, Delmarva and Hickory locked horns in a pitchers duel with neither side scoring through the first seven-plus innings, the longest scoreless showdown the Shorebirds have been involved in this year. The Shorebirds' Brenan Hanifee didn't have his best stuff but still fought through six scoreless innings of four-hit ball. The Orioles' eighth-ranked prospect walked two, struck out two, and lowered his season ERA to 2.22.
Tyler Phillips, meanwhile, spun seven scoreless innings for the Crawdads, scattering five hits while walking none and striking out seven. In one stretch from the second through seventh, he retired 14 Shorebirds in a row.
Delmarva kept the game scoreless in the sixth inning when Kirvin Moesquit threw out Tyler Ratliff at the plate from center. Gray Fenter then came in from the bullpen in the seventh and struck out the side.
Hickory finally broke through with small ball in the bottom of the eighth. Franklin Rollin laid down a perfect leadoff bunt that came to rest up the third base line and later stole his way to second and third base. Three batters later, Yohel Pozo chipped his bat but muscled a grounder down the third base line past a diving Trevor Craport for a base hit, scoring Rollin. Pozo was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double to end the inning, but the Crawdads had their lead at 1-0.
Mason McCoy took a four-pitch walk from reliever Tyler Ferguson to begin the ninth, then went to second on a wild pitch from Mendez, who entered immediately after the walk. Zach Jarrett came up next and slashed a line drive into left center, scoring McCoy to tie it at 1-1. Delmarva stranded men on first and second in the inning, the third time in the game the team left two aboard, but still forced extras when Vespi went 1-2-3 through the ninth.
Jarrett finished 2-for-4 with a double and RBI in front of his hometown crowd in Hickory. McCoy went 1-for-3 with the Shorebirds' only run.
Thompson's winner in the 10th was his first hit of the game. Pozo finished 2-for-3 with the other RBI for the Crawdads.
Delmarva falls to 5-2 against Hickory on the season with both Crawdad wins coming in walkoff fashion. The Shorebirds have now dropped four of their last five games.
The Shorebirds will try and get off the schneid against the Crawdads on Tuesday night. DL Hall (0-1, 2.29) gets the start for Delmarva against Hickory's Tyree Thompson (1-3, 5.74). First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m., and pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 5:45 with Will DeBoer on the call.
