'Dads Shuck 'Birds in Opener

SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds stalled at the plate in their opener against the Hickory Crawdads, falling 10-1 on Monday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
Tyler Phillips (11-5) gained sole possession of the league lead in wins for the Crawdads (37-26, 67-64), scattering three hits over five scoreless innings, walking one, and striking out five on the way to his ninth straight win. Cameron Bishop (9-7) took the loss in an abbreviated start for the Shorebirds (30-30, 65-62), giving up one run on two hits over four innings with no walks and five strikeouts. Bishop exited the game with 125.2 innings under his belt this season and a 2.94 ERA.
Hickory got its tally off of Bishop in the top of the third. Bubba Thompson led off with a double and eventually came around to score on groundouts by Yonny Hernandez and Ryan Dorow, putting the Crawdads up 1-0.
The visitors really broke it open in the fifth. With two out, Thompson laced a single and soon after stole second base. Hernandez then dropped a bloop single into right, bringing around Thompson. Dorow followed with a run-scoring double, and Tyreque Reed singled to bring in Dorow. After a walk to Sam Huff, Yohel Pozo mashed a double to right center, scoring two more to make it a five-run inning and 6-0 Hickory lead.
The Crawdads came back for a sequel with two out in the sixth. Thompson started things again with a double off the wall, and Hernandez singled to score him. Dorow slashed another double to left to put men on second and third, and Reed clubbed a three-run homer to left, putting the visitors in front 10-0.
Delmarva saved face in the bottom of the ninth as back-to-back doubles by Jean Carlos Encarnacion and Trevor Craport produced the shutout-busting run.
Encarnacion, Craport, and Cadyn Grenier each doubled, accounting for half of the Shorebirds' six hits on the night.
The top six in the order proved to be a wrecking ball for Hickory. Thompson led the way at the top, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, three runs, and a stolen base. Hernandez and Dorow each went 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, while Reed drove in four and Pozo plated two on three hits.
The Shorebirds will look to bounce back against the Crawdads on Tuesday night. Brandon Bonilla (0-3, 4.15) takes the hill for Delmarva against Hickory's Reid Anderson (8-6, 3.27). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00. Tuesday is Ticket Amnesty Night for the second half; unused 2018 tickets can be redeemed for an Upper Reserved ticket. It's also City of Salisbury Night, presented by the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce. Pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 6:50 with Will DeBoer on the call.