Shorebirds Fall in Extras, 2-1

Greensboro, NC - The Delmarva Shorebirds fell in extra innings in Greensboro on Saturday night, ending a four-game winning streak. The Grasshoppers prevailed in the 11th inning as Austin Dean doubled to right, scoring Yefri Perez for a walk-off victory in the series finale.

Throughout the winning streak, the Shorebirds have relied on dominant pitching in low-scoring contests. This proved true again with Sebastian Vader giving Delmarva another solid outing from the starting rotation. Vader went seven innings, allowing just five hits and one run.

The one run that Vader surrendered came on a solo home run in the fourth inning. Felix Munoz launched a solo shot deep to right-center to open the scoring, giving Greensboro a 1-0 lead.

Much like Friday night, the 1-0 lead held until the later innings. Mike Yastrzemski, playing in his first game since Monday, crushed his first home run of the season to tie the game.

The Shorebirds had opportunities to take a lead in the later stages. In the final four innings, Delmarva had the go-ahead run in scoring position. In each instance, the Shorebirds failed to deliver the needed base hit with runners in scoring position.

The best chance for Delmarva came in the top of the ninth inning. Hector Veloz doubled to start the inning. Veloz was playing in the place of Josh Hart, who left in the sixth inning with an injury. After the double, Castagnini successfully moved the runner to third with a sacrifice bunt. However, Gregory Lorenzo and Trey Mancini both struck out to end the threat.

In the 11th inning, Greensboro finally broke through for the walk-off victory. Shorebirds reliever Dennis Torres got into trouble by hitting Yefri Perez to lead off the frame. After a sacrifice bunt, Torres intentionally walked Felix Munoz. Austin Dean stroked a double over the head of Veloz in right field, and Perez scored the game-winning run. It was the first base hit for Greensboro since the fourth inning.

Dennis Torres (0-2) took the loss for Delmarva despite only allowing one hit, the double to Dean to end the game. C.J. Robinson (1-1) earned the victory for Greensboro by pitching two scoreless innings in extras.

The loss for Delmarva snapped a four-game winning streak, and it spoiled a potential series sweep in Greensboro. The Shorebirds now get a day off before starting a seven-game homestand on Monday. Delmarva hosts Savannah for three games with Austin Urban (0-1, 10.57) squaring off against Chris Flexen (0-1, 5.73) for the Sand Gnats. First pitch at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 pm on Monday.