Shorebirds Rally For Series Victory

SALISBURY, Md. -- The Delmarva Shorebirds rallied to clinch their first series victory of the 2015 season, defeating the Greensboro Grasshoppers 5-3 at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium on Sunday afternoon in front of 5,093 fans.

The Shorebirds trailed 5-1 entering the bottom of the fifth, but got back into the game thanks to a three-run double from Alex Murphy. Delmarva then tied the game when Conor Bierfeldt came through with a run scoring double of his own.

In the sixth, the Shorebirds took the lead for good on a Steve Wilkerson RBI single. A Murphy single and Bierfeldt's second double of the afternoon provided two insurance runs.

It wasn't just the middle of the Shorebirds order providing offense, as shortstop Jared Breen kicked off a three-hit day with an RBI single in the bottom of the second that erased an early 1-0 deficit.

The afternoon capped an impressive opening series for the Shorebirds offense, as the team hit .304, scored 23 runs and clubbed 14 extra-base hits.

Pitcher Matthew Grimes made his Shorebirds debut, striking out seven batters in 4.1 innings. After Grimes hit a snag in the fifth inning, Dariel Delgado and Zeke McGranahan combined to retire 12 of the last 14 Grasshoppers batters to pick up the victory. McGranahan also struck out four over the game's final two frames to pick up his first save of the season.

The Shorebirds' first homestand of the season rolls on with the opener of a three-game series against the Kannapolis Intimidators at 7:05 p.m. Shorebirds pitcher Bennett Parry is scheduled to make his first regular season start of 2015 against Kannapolis righty Luis Martinez.