Crawdads power past Shorebirds, 7-4

SALISBURY, MD - The Hickory Crawdads rode two long balls and some clutch hitting to a 7-4 victory against the Delmarva Shorebirds before 3,851 fans at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. 1B Jared Bolden provided the eventual game-winning hit, a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, lifting Hickory back into the lead, part of his three-hit day.

The Crawdads (3-3, 36-39) got out to an early lead against LHP Nathan Moreau with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. LF Cristian Santana drove in both runs with one swing, going yard over the left field wall after 3B Matt West drew a walk to get on.

Hickory doubled it's lead with another two-run bomb against Moreau, coming in the fifth inning off the bat of 2B Erik Morrison after DH Mike Hollander drew a walk to reach base, putting the Crawdads ahead 4-0.

Delmarva (4-3, 40-36) got on the board in the bottom of the fifth against starter RHP Neil Ramirez with a pair of tallies, only one of which was earned. An RBI double by 2B Rodolfo Cardona plated the first run, and then Cardona moved to third on a single and scored on a passed ball to cut the Crawdads lead in half, 4-2. The Shorebirds tied the game with two unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the first frame on the mound for RHP Carlos Pimentel (4-4).

However, Hickory responded with two of their own in the very next inning, the top of the seventh. Hollander drew a walk to lead off the inning, followed by a one-out walk by RF Mike Bianucci and 3B Matt West being hit by a pitch by RHP Brent Allar (0-3) to load the bases. Allar retired Santana for the second out in the inning, but then Bolden came through with the two-run single through the right side of the infield to plate Hollander and Bianucci, putting the Crawdads back in the lead, 6-4. The Crawdads tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth, when Hollander drove in SS Leury Garcia from second base with an RBI single down the third base line.

Pimentel dealt scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth before RHP Tyler Tufts slammed the door on the Shorebirds with a scoreless, three-up, three-down ninth inning to close the 7-4 win for the Crawdads. Pimentel earned the victory and Tufts registered the save, while Allar was tagged with the loss for Delmarva.

If you missed any or all of today's action, be sure to tune in to the tape-delayed broadcast tonight at 7 p.m. on The Big Dawg 92.1 FM and Hickorycrawdads.com!

Crawdads Clippings:
The Crawdads continue their road series against Delmarva at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday evening. Catch all the action live on The Big Dawg 92.1 FM and Hickorycrawdads.com, and be sure to tune in 15 minutes early for Crawdads Countdown, presented by George's On The Lake.

The Crawdads will be back at L.P. Frans Stadium on Saturday to kick off an eight-game homestand with the 4th of July Fireworks Show following the game. The first 1,000 fans through the gates on the 4th of July will also receive Crawdads Tote Bags, courtesy of Flat Rock Grille and KICKS Radio Group. Gates open at 6 p.m., first pitch is at 7 p.m.

Get Tickets:
Single game tickets for all Crawdads games are on sale now at the Crawdads Ticket Office and online at www.hickorycrawdads.com and start at just $6! Season tickets, mini-plans and group outings are available at the Crawdads office, located at 2500 Clement Blvd. NW or by calling 322-3000.

~There's a New Ranger in Town~