Delmarva Drops Series Opener Against Greensboro

SALISBURY, MD - Ill-timed double plays and some bad luck hurt the Shorebirds on Monday night in their first home game of the second half. Delmarva rallied in the sixth and the eighth when they trailed 6-0, but Greensboro prevailed 6-3 in the series opener at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

Ofelky Peralta (3-4) gave up a third inning solo homer to Aaron Blanton for the first run of the night. But things got far more difficult for Peralta in the fourth inning. Zach Sullivan lined a ball off of Peralta's shin that rolled more than 100 feet away from the mound into shallow right field behind first base. Peralta was able to keep pitching, but a RBI double from Casey Soltis and two-run triple from Anfernee Seymour quickly followed to push Greensboro's lead to 5-0.

Blanton drove home another run with a ground ball in the sixth to give the Grasshoppers (42-33, 4-1) a comfortable lead.

But the Shorebirds (43-31, 1-4) still had some offensive life. Yermin Mercedes singled home Cedric Mullins in the bottom of the sixth to get the first run on the board. But Alex Murphy lined into a double play at first base that Josh Naylor caught and he beat Mercedes back to the bag to kill the rally.

In the eighth, the Shorebirds had the bases loaded with nobody out for Mercedes - one of the league's more fearsome hitters. Mercedes grounded a ball to Seymour at shortstop, but his flip to Justin Twine at second base was off target. Drew Turbin and Cedric Mullins both scored on the play to make it a 6-3 game. After Murphy singled, the bases were again loaded with nobody out.

After Randy Gassaway popped out to second base, Natanael Delgado lined out to Seymour at shortstop, who scampered back to second base just ahead of Mercedes for an inning-ending double play. That was the 'Birds last scoring chance of the night.

The Shorebirds still have a chance to win the series against the league's hottest team - Greensboro is 30-9 since opening the year 12-24. First pitch on Tuesday night is scheduled for 7:05 pm with Reid Love (5-3, 3.25) slated to throw for Delmarva. Brendan Gulick will have the broadcast beginning with Shorebirds On-Deck at 6:50 pm on Fox Sports AM 960 and online at theshorebirds.com.