Delmarva Turn Lights Out on Salem Comeback

The revamped Delmarva Shorebirds (38-70, 17-26) stormed into Salem Memorial Ballpark and dominated the Salem Red Sox (55-53, 20-22) en route to a 17-10 victory to open the series.

Four Shorebirds batters had multi-RBI games which were led by Frederick Bencosme and Jud Fabian who had four RBIs each, followed by a three-RBI performance by Dylan Beavers and a two-RBI night by Adam Crampton.

Saying that it was a busy night for the Red Sox pitching staff would be an understatement as seven pitchers were used throughout the nine innings of play.

Starter Angel Bastrado (L, 3-4) lasted only a third of an inning before Salem Red Sox Manager Luke Montz went to the bullpen. From there on out, Bryan Lucas, Nathanael Cruz, Christopher Troye, Blake Loubier, Osvaldo De La Rosa, and Miguel Suero were all tasked to do the near impossible, which was to slow down Delmarva in arguably their best offensive night of the season.

It didn’t take long for the visiting Shorebirds to find their groove as they punched in a couple of runs in the first four batters of the game. After putting up three runs in the opening frame, the Red Sox responded with a single run in the bottom half of the inning to show they weren’t going away.

But that never intimidated Delmarva as they went on to notch five unanswered runs in the second and third innings to jump out to a seven-run edge. Crampton doubled in both innings for his first two extra-base hits in the Single-A level while Fabian launched a solo shot down the left field line in the third to put the Shorebirds up comfortably.

While the game looked lost for Salem, they never backed down and consistently made it exciting with a two-run fifth, a four-run sixth and a three-run seventh. In most situations, that would get a team back into the mix or grab the lead, but Delmarva took care of each threat with a two-run sixth and a five-run seventh.

Eduardo Lopez had a great return to Carilion Clinic Field with his 3-5 night that included three RBIs and three runs, which led all Red Sox batters. Brainer Bonaci crushed his first home run at home this season, a two-run blast, to collect another multi-hit night for the Salem designated hitter. Karson Simas also had a two-hit night and scored on two of his three on-base appearances.

Johnfrank Salazar and Chase Meidroth made their Salem home debuts and each batter contributed quite well at the plate; Salazar collected two hits with a pair of singles and Meidroth recorded a single in his three at-bats.

The Salem Red Sox and Delmarva Shorebirds will meet for game two of the six-game series on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

First Pitch: 7:06 p.m.

Time of Game: 3:30 (:26 delay)

Attendance: 1,471

Venue: Carilion Clinic Field