SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Birds Beat Intimidators in Battle of the Bullpens

Published on April 13, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


SALISBURY, Md. (April 13, 2015) - The Delmarva Shorebirds reclaimed the lead against the Intimidators bullpen and held on to beat Kannapolis, 5-3, on Monday at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. Delmarva (4-1) plated four runs against Kannapolis relievers in the bottom of the sixth while the 'Birds bullpen blanked the Intimidators over the final 3 and 1/3 frames.

With Kannapolis up 3-1, reliever Jacob Morris - who spun a scoreless fifth - worked into a bases-loaded, no-out jam to open the sixth. He struck out a batter before manager Tommy Thompson went to the bullpen. David Trexler took the mound with bases loaded and one out but walked Jared Breen to pull the Shorebirds within a run. Riley Palmer scored the tying run on a wild pitch, and Ronsary Ledesma drew a walk to re-load the bases. Alex Murphy then connected on a 2-run double to put Delmarva ahead, 5-3.

Kannapolis took the lead with a 3-run top of the sixth, chasing Delmarva starter Bennett Parry from the game. Ethan Gross led off with a ground-rule double down the right-field line, and moved to third on an Eddy Alvarez sacrifice bunt. Gross scored when Michael Suiter reached base on an error, and Chris Curley followed a Mason Robbins single with a go-ahead double. Zach Fish extended the lead to 3-1 with an RBI single to cash Robbins.

Nick Cunningham (1-0) tossed 2 and 2/3 scoreless relief innings for Delmarva to earn the win, and Donnie Hart worked a perfect ninth for the save (1). Morris (0-1) took the loss.

Kannapolis starter Luis Martinez lasted 4.0 innings before reaching his pitch limit. He allowed a run on three hits while walking four and striking out two in his Class A debut.

Parry opened with 5.0 scoreless innings against the Intimidators, retiring 15 of the first 17 batters he faced, including 11 straight from the third through fifth innings.

The Shorebirds took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Elier Leyva walked and stole second base to set up Jomar Reyes for an RBI-double. Reyes drove a Luis Martinez pitch to the gap in left-center field to break the scoreless tie.

The Intimidators continue this 3-game series against the Shorebirds on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. when RHP Yency Almonte makes his season debut against Delmarva's LHP John Means (1-0, 0.00). The Intimidators are on a 7-game road trip to open the 2015 season before playing their home opener on Thursday, April 16, at CMC-NorthEast Stadium. For ticket and promotional information, call the F&M Bank Box Office at (704) 932-3267 or visit IntimidatorsBaseball.com.

Check out the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from April 13, 2015


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.

OurSports Central