Comeback Falls Short as Delmarva Knocks of Lynchburg

A ninth inning rally fell just short for the Lynchburg Hillcats as they dropped 4-3 to the Delmarva Shorebirds on Friday night.

Lynchburg trailed for most of the ballgame but made a push in the ninth inning that saw the tying run stranded 90 feet away. Delmarva just barely sneaked by after a couple of close calls went their way.

The Shorebirds would strike first in the third inning as Mac Horvath blasted a solo shot to give them the early lead. Lynchburg would rebound in the bottom of the inning as Wuilfredo Antunez doubled home Angel Zarate to tie things up heading to the fourth.

Delmarva did not waste much time as Cole Urman drove home Matthew Etzel on an RBI single. In the seventh, Enrique Bradfield Jr. brought home another on a sacrifice fly before Horvath would plate his second RBI with a double to left.

Lynchburg struggled at the plate with 15 straight batters being retired from the fourth inning until the ninth. However, the Hillcats would chip away at the deficit as a wild pitch with the bases loaded brought home Jaison Chourio in his first game in Lynchburg.

Later in the inning, chaos broke loose as C.J. Kayfus floated a ball down the left field line that Etzel laid out for right along the line. No signal was made as the ball appeared to come loose, allowing Maick Collado to score from third. In the ensuing moments, Jose Devers would head to third as neither umpire made a signal until after the play was over with Kayfus being called out after reaching second.

The final batter would strike out as Lynchburg would fall just short in their comeback attempt.

The Hillcats and Shorebirds will meet again on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. at Bank of the James Stadium.