Shorebirds Fall 7-6 in Ten Innings

Greensboro, NC - Greensboro's Blake Barber singled into center field in the bottom of the tenth inning to lift the Gasshoppers (6-5) to a walk off 7-6 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds (5-6) on Sunday night at NewBridge Bank Park.

Greensboro scored first in the second inning. With Matt Juengel at first base, Blake Barber hit a two-run homer to left field. 

In the fourth, the Shorebirds took the lead. Tucker Nathans singled to center to open the inning. Then, Joel Hutter smoked a double past the third baseman and down the left field line to advance Nathans to third. Then, Roderick Bernadina singled to left field to score both runners. The left fielder Cody Keefer misplayed the ball and allowed Bernadina to move to third. Adrian Marin followed with a soft groundout to second to plate Bernadina.

Greensboro grabbed the lead right back in the bottom of the fourth. Juengel hit a two-run home run to left-center field. 

In the fifth, the Shorebirds tied the game at 4-4. George Barber walked to open the inning. On a hit-and-run, Barber moved to third on a single to right field by Creede Simpson. Then, Nathans grounded to first and Barber scored.

The Shorebirds reclaimed the lead in the sixth. Bernadina blasted a double to left-center to begin the inning. Two batters later, Chase Weems ripped a single to center to score Bernadina.

The see-saw battle continued in the bottom of the sixth as Greensboro regained the lead. After two hits in the inning, Juan Guzman was replaced by Matt Hobgood. Cody Keefer grounded sharply to first and Simpson misplayed to load the bases. Then, Jose Behar chopped a two-run single to center to give the Grasshoppers a 6-5 lead. 

In the eighth inning, Bernadina belted a solo home run to deep left field to tie the game at 6-6. It was his second homer of the year and first since April 6.

Hobgood held the Grasshoppers scoreless from the seventh through ninth innings. In the tenth, Greensboro scored the game winner. Gomez led off with a single to left field. With two outs and Gomez at third, Barber singled to center field to lift the Grasshoppers to the win.

Shorebirds starter Guzman went 5.1 innings and allowed nine hits and six runs. 

The Shorebirds travel to Lakewood, New jersey to begin a three-game series against the Lakewood BlueClaws on Monday, July 1.