'Birds Back Wells Early over Crawdads
June 1, 2017 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release
SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back, beating the Hickory Crawdads 8-2 on Thursday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shorebirds have now won six of their last nine.
Alex Wells (4-2) earned the win with the best start of his career, going seven scoreless innings while allowing three hits, walking none, and striking out five. Seven innings marked a season high for the Orioles' 15th-ranked prospect and matched a career-best seven frames for the Aberdeen IronBirds against the Connecticut Tigers last June 27. Wells' season ERA now stands at 1.74, putting him in the top four in the South Atlantic League.
Sal Mendez (3-2) took the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits in three innings.
The Shorebirds (22-30) jumped on Mendez early. Ryan McKenna led off the game with a single, and Jake Ring laced a double to the right field corner to put men at second and third. After a groundout, Preston Palmeiro hit a sharp grounder to second that chased McKenna home to make it 1-0. Cole Billingsley came up next and got on base thanks to catcher's interference by Alex Kowalczyk on a swing. Billingsley soon after took off to steal second, and Kowalczyk's throw sailed into center field, allowing Ring to score from third and Billingsley to move up another base. Gerrion Grim followed with a single to center, plating Billingsley to make it 3-0.
Frank Crinella and Jerry McClanahan followed Grim with singles of their own to load the bases, and Alejandro Juvier capped the scoring with a two-run single to left, putting Delmarva up 5-0 in one of their biggest first innings of the year.
Billingsley led off the third with a single, then after a Grim walk and Crinella groundout, McClanahan lifted a sac fly to right, bringing home Billingsley with his second run.
McKenna singled to begin the fourth inning and came around two batters later on a Chris Clare double to the left field corner. Clare came home on another Palmeiro groundout, and the Shorebirds held an 8-0.
That was more than enough for Wells, who retired the first 10 men to face him before a Ti'Quan Forbes infield single in the fourth. Two of Wells' three hits against were of the infield variety with only Jose Almonte's single in the fifth got into the outfield grass. Wells allowed two hits in that fifth inning but struck out Yeyson Yrizarri to end the threat. He retired the final seven men to face him.
The Crawdads (20-34) got their runs in the top of the eighth off reliever Cody Dube. Franklin Rollin was hit by a pitch to lead off, and Yrizarri belted a triple to the left field wall to bring him around two batters later. Yrizarri later scored on an Anderson Tejeda groundout, giving the game its final margin. Dube would sit Hickory down 1-2-3 in the ninth to wrap it up in a tight 2:09.
Ring finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run before leaving the game in the seventh after making a diving catch in right field in the sixth. His 19 doubles and 31 extra-base hits both lead the SAL. Ring now has 18 multi-hit games in his first 47 of the year.
McKenna went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs for the Shorebirds, while Crinella had his second straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run. Delmarva pounded out 12 hits and saw every starter get at least one for the second straight night.
Yrizarri led the way at the plate for the Crawdads, finishing 1-for-3 with a triple, run, and RBI.
The Shorebirds are now 6-3 in their last nine games after losing 11 out of 12. The six-run win is their largest at Perdue Stadium since beating Greensboro 13-3 on April 18 and first multi-run victory since a 4-1 decision over Lakewood on April 24. Delmarva's previous five wins at home were by just one run.
The Shorebirds send Lucas Humpal (2-5, 4.47) to the hill on Friday night against the Crawdads' Matt Ball (0-0, 5.82). First pitch is 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00. Friday is Sherman the Shorebird's birthday and will feature visits from all his mascot friends, presented by Sherwood of Salisbury. The first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive an Orange Friday Jersey Draw String Bag, stylized after the Shorebirds' Orange Friday uniforms. Friday is another Hit the Books night presented by Dr. James Crouse at the Brace Place, as well as Froggy 99.9 Big Beer Friday, featuring 32oz Miller Lite & Coors Light on draft for $6. Pregame coverage of the resumption on Fox Sports AM 960 and the MiLB First Pitch app begins at 6:50 p.m. with Will DeBoer on the call.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 1, 2017
- Suns Beat Fireflies for Sellout Crowd, 3-2 - Hagerstown Suns
- Augusta Blanks Legends 4-0 - Lexington Legends
- Beer City Beats Lakewood 8-5 - Asheville Tourists
- Rome Upend West Virginia, 5-4 - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Late Rally Propels Rome Past West Virginia - Rome Emperors
- Two Claws Homers Not Enough; Tourists Top Claws 8-5 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- 'Birds Back Wells Early over Crawdads - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Drive Take Down RiverDogs 3-2 in Series - Greenville Drive
- RiverDogs Let One Slip Late in Greenville - Charleston RiverDogs
- Lindsay Homers in Loss to Hagerstown - Columbia Fireflies
- Adolfo Homers as I's Bounce the Hoppers - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Adolfo Named White Sox Minor League Player of the Month - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Historic "Hatfield and McCoy Feud" Comes to Baseball - Lexington Legends
- Fireflies Game Notes: June 1 at Hagerstown (Game 51) - Columbia Fireflies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
