SALISBURY, MD - Zach Jarrett muscled a walkoff broken-bat single to left field, winning it for the Delmarva Shorebirds 3-2 over the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the bottom of the ninth on Friday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.With the game tied 2-2 and two in the ninth, Mason McCoy worked
SALISBURY, MD - Zach Jarrett muscled a walkoff broken-bat single to left field, winning it for the Delmarva Shorebirds 3-2 over the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the bottom of the ninth on Friday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
With the game tied 2-2 and two in the ninth, Mason McCoy worked a full-count walk to keep the inning alive. McCoy then stole second base, and Cadyn Grenier drew a walk of his own. Up came Jarrett, and Greensboro reliever Michael Mertz quickly fell behind in the count 3-0. On the next pitch, Jarrett attacked and shattered the barrel of his bat, bouncing both ball and bat in the direction of third baseman Marcos Rivera. The ball glanced off Rivera's glove and skipped into left, allowing McCoy to score and prompting a wild celebration for the 4,116 fans in attendance.
Nick Vespi (4-3) got the win in relief for the Shorebirds (17-11, 52-43), giving up a run on two hits over two innings and striking out four. Nestor Bautista (1-2) took the loss for the Grasshoppers (13-14, 47-49); he walked McCoy in the ninth before Mertz gave up the winning single to Jarrett.
The Shorebirds got their first jolt of offensive prowess in the series during the second inning. Branden Becker doubled to right center with one out advanced to third on a groundout. Kirvin Moesquit then slapped an RBI single to left field, plating Becker. McCoy came up next and belted a double that split the gap in right center, scoring Moesquit to give the Shorebirds an early 2-0 lead.
Cameron Bishop got the start for the Shorebirds and was stellar in five innings of work, giving just three hits and walking none while striking out a career high-tying eight. Greensboro's Colton Hock lasted 4.2 innings, giving up two runs on six hits.
The Grasshoppers found success after Bishop's departure, clawing their way back into the ballgame in the sixth. Thomas Jones led off with a walk and got caught leaning too far off first base, but an errant throw from Ben Breazeale sailed into right field, allowing Jones to move up to third. Jose Devers came up next and tagged out an infield single to score Jones and cut the Shorebird lead to 2-1.
Greensboro continued to find success against Delmarva's bullpen in the eighth. Gunnar Schubert led off with a single, followed by a Jones attempted sac-bunt back to the mound that Vespi fielded and threw into center field, putting runners at first and second. After a Devers bunt attempt turned fielder's choice at third, Tristian Pompey tagged a hard chopper up the middle and into center, bringing around Jones to tie it at 2-2.
Vespi bounced back to strike out the side in the ninth and set up the dramatic finish.
McCoy finished 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and the game-winning run. Becker added two hits of his own, doubling and scoring in the second.
Jones finished 0-for-3 but scored both Grasshopper runs. Schubert added two hits in his team debut.
The Shorebirds look to take control of the series against the Grasshoppers on Saturday night. Brenan Hanifee (7-4, 2.56) gets the start for Delmarva against Greensboro's Daniel Castano (2-2, 3.24). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 4:00 for batting practice. Saturday kicks off Christmas in July Weekend; the Shorebirds will wear Christmas-themed jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game. Fans can also bring a new toy to Perdue Stadium, which will be donated to Brooke's Toy Closet at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in a toy drive presented by Mojo's. Afterwards, fans can enjoy a Q105 Postgame Fireworks Show, presented by Market Street Inn & Mojo's. Pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 6:50 with Will DeBoer and Drew Williams on the call.
