SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Birds Comeback Falls Short, Suns Hang On 4-3

Published on August 23, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


Hagerstown, MD- A valiant late-inning rally fell short as Hagerstown held off Delmarva 4-3 on Saturday night at Municipal Stadium. The Sun led 4-0 when the Shorebirds finally broke through in the eighth inning, scoring three times to get within a run. But the Birds left the potential tying run at third base as Hagerstown's Dan Leatherman pitched the final inning and a third to close it out for the one-run victory, evening the five-game series at two games apiece.

Hagerstown jumped out to an early lead thanks to Tim Pahuata's first inning RBI double and Robbie Jacobsen's second-inning solo homer that propelled the Suns to a 2-0 lead after two. At the same time, the Shorebirds were quieted by Suns starter Osvaldo Rodriguez, who surrendered just two hits over five innings to earn his first win of the season. The only jam Rodriguez encountered was one of his own making. The Dominican righthander walked three batters in the third to load the bases, but recovered by striking out Joe Mahoney with two outs to escape unscathed.

Hagerstown scored twice more off Shorebird starter Chris Salberg in the last of the fourth. Jacobsen doubled for his second extra-base hit of the ballgame to begin the rally, and after a fielding error at third base by Jedidiah Steven, Jake Rogers and Valerio Heredia each contributed RBI singles to double the Suns lead to four.

Salberg was removed with two on and one out in the fifth, but the combination of Joe Esposito and Cliff Flagello out of the Delmarva bullpen held the Suns at bay the rest of the way. Esposito struck out five in two and two-thirds, while Flagello K'd a pair in his inning on the hill.

Although Delmarva scored three in the eighth, Paco Figueroa, whose RBI double inched the Birds within a run, remained at third base when Pedro Florimon struck out to end the threat. Ryan Adams singled with one out off Leatherman in the ninth, but the Suns closer induced back-to-back strikeouts of Stephen and Joe Nowicki to end the game. For the second straight game, Stephen finished with four strikeouts.

The rubber match of the five game series will take place as a Sunday matinee, a 2:05 start as Zach Britton opposes Cole Kimball.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 23, 2008


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