Three Homer, Nine RBI Game from Billy Cook Powers ‘Birds by ‘Cats

ZEBULON, N.C. - The Delmarva Shorebirds demolished multiple offensive records as they shellacked the Carolina Mudcats 21-3 on Saturday night at Five County Stadium.

The Shorebirds (61-46) broke their franchise single-game marks for homers (six) and runs (21) in their triumph over the Mudcats (62-43).

Delmarva plated two in the second on a sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Collin Burns before Coby Mayo socked his third homer of the season, a two-run shot, in the third to make it 4-0.

Carolina got on the board with an RBI groundout from Alex Binelas in the bottom of the third.

Colton Cowser drove in a run with a base hit in the fifth for Delmarva before the Shorebirds loaded the bases with two away. Billy Cook stepped in and walloped a grand slam, his first homer of the day, to make it 9-1.

Carolina got one back in the sixth on a Micah Bello sacrifice fly but Connor Norby swatted a solo homer, his second of the year, in the seventh for Delmarva to restore the eight run cushion.

Cook led off the eighth with a solo homer, his second of the game, before Delmarva plated three more in the frame leading to his second at-bat of the inning, this time with the bases loaded. Cook uncorked his second homer of the inning, his second grand slam of the day, and his third homer in the game, to push the scoreline to 18-3.

Cowser smacked a three-run homer, his first with Delmarva, to put the cherry on top of a 21-3 win in the ninth.

Jean Pinto (1-1) picked up his first Delmarva win in a stellar performance. He went six innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk, striking out a career-high 11.

Zach Mort (3-1) took the loss for Carolina after he allowed eight runs on nine hits in 4.2 IP, walking one and giving up six hits.

Cook finished 4-for-5 with a double, three homers and nine RBIs. He set a new single-game record for the Shorebirds with nine driven in while tying the franchise record with three home runs which was last done by Collin Woody on August 15, 2017. Cook also tied Woody’s record from that day of four extra base hits and came up one total base short of his record of 15.

The Shorebirds wrap up their series with the Mudcats on Sunday, September 5. Ty Blach (0-0, 0.00) makes his second start of the series for Delmarva while Brailin Rodriguez makes his Low-A debut for Carolina. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 12:45 p.m. on Fox Sports 960 AM and IHeartRadio online with Sam Jellinek on the call. MiLB.TV coverage will be provided by Carolina.

ABOUT THE DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS

The Delmarva Shorebirds were founded in 1996 and have been the Class-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles since 1997. The Shorebirds have won two South Atlantic League championships in 1997 and 2000 and were named the MiLB.com Minor League Team of the Year in 2019 after going 90-48 in the regular season. Based in Salisbury, Maryland, the Shorebirds are proud to represent the entire Delmarva Peninsula and have hosted two SAL All-Star Games in 1999 and 2011. The Shorebirds are owned by 7th Inning Stretch, LP, based in Stockton,California headed by Chairman Tom Volpe and President Pat Filippone.