Suns Scorch 'Birds for Split

SALISBURY, MD - The Hagerstown Suns plated six runs in the first inning and never looked back as they walloped the Delmarva Shorebirds 15-1 on Monday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
Tomas Alastre (3-2) earned the win for the Suns (17-19), working 5.2 scoreless frames of seven-hit ball, walking two and striking out six. Nick Vespi (1-2) absorbed the loss for the Shorebirds (26-7) after going just one inning and being charged with six runs on eight hits while striking out one.
Cody Wilson led off the game for Hagerstown with a single and was followed by a Justin Connell bunt base hit. After a strikeout, Jacob Rhinesmith loaded the bases with an infield single on a dribbler to short. Israel Pineda then hooked a double into the left field corner to plate the first two runs of the game. With runners now at second and third, Omar Meregildo brought home the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to center. Pablo O'Connor then continued the rally with an RBI double, scoring Pineda from second and putting Hagerstown ahead 4-0. Juan Pascal brought O'Connor around as he blooped an RBI single to right. Wilson capped off the frame with his second hit of the inning, an RBI double to score Pascal and make it 6-0 Hagerstown.
The Suns rolled the rest of the way. Pineda blasted a two-run homer in the second, and Lara belted a solo shot in the third to put Hagerstown ahead by nine after three.
Two more runs came across for Hagerstown in the sixth on a Rhinesmith RBI double and a wild pitch allowing Rhinesmith to score. The Suns continued to pour it on in the seventh. An error allowed a run to score and was followed by a Rhinesmith RBI single. A wild pitch brought home the third run of the inning and a Meregildo sacrifice fly finished off the frame and make it 15-0.
After stranding eight men aboard in the fourth-through-sixth innings, Delmarva avoided the shutout by plating a run in the eighth. Nick Horvath doubled, advanced to third on a Ben Breazeale groundout to second, and scored on a wild pitch, giving the game its final margin.
Pineda led the offensive onslaught for the Suns, going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Rhinesmith finished a home run shy of a cycle but still collected four hits and drove in two runs. Connell went 4-for-6 and scored three runs. One game after going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, Hagerstown went an astounding 8-for-15 in those situations.
For Delmarva, Adam Hall picked up his 13th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-4 with a double. Andrew Fregia also collected two hits as well.
The Shorebirds now head out of town for a nine-game, seven-day road trip, beginning Tuesday night at the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Ofelky Peralta (2-0, 1.07) gets the start for Delmarva while Steven Jennings (2-4, 5.63) will go for Greensboro. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m., and pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 6:45 with Will DeBoer on the call.