Shorebirds Walk Off In 9th Inning

Salisbury, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds evened up the series in dramatic fashion with a 3-2 walkoff victory over the West Virginia Power. Austin Wynns drove home Creede Simpson on a high chopper to the mound in the ninth inning.

Delmarva struck early with two runs in the first inning. Simpson roped a double down the left field line to score Jeff Kemp. Drew Dosch scored on the next play, as Chance Sisco rolled an RBI grounder to second base. Power starter Dovydas Neverauskas settled down, allowing just two more hits over his season-high seven innings.

West Virginia edged their way back into the game. First, the Power scored an unearned run off Steven Brault on a throwing error by Drew Dosch. After Brault departed in the sixth inning, Jon Keller surrendered a game-tying solo home run to JaCoby Jones, his sixth home run in his last eight games.

The game remained tied until the ninth inning. Alex Santana preserved the 2-2 tie by stranding the go-ahead run on third base in the top of the ninth. After Simpson was hit by a pitch, Chance Sisco singled to put the winning run on third base. With the infield drawn in, Wynns hit a chopper off the plate that bounced 15 feet up in the air. Yhonathan Barrios tried a bare-handed play but the throw to home was just late, and Simpson scored the game-winning run.

Alex Santana earned his first win with the Shorebirds, while Barrios dropped to 2-6 with the defeat. Chance Sisco extended his hitting streak to nine games with a 2-for-4 night. It was the Shorebirds' fifth walkoff win of the season, and their first since Memorial Day.

The Shorebirds and Power will square off in the rubber match on Wednesday morning. Lefty Luis Gonzalez (3-0, 3.00) faces West Virginia right-hander Justin Topa (3-5, 5.95) in the finale. First pitch is scheduled for 10:35 am at Perdue Stadium.