SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Birds Surge Early, Bury Suns Late

Published on May 30, 2017 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


HAGERSTOWN, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds scored runs in each of the first four innings and held off a late Hagerstown Suns charge, winning the series opener 8-4 on Monday night at Municipal Stadium. The 'Birds have now won four out of six.

Zach Muckenhirn (2-5) earned the win for the Shorebirds (20-29), his first since April 12, with six innings of two-run, nine-hit ball. He walked two and struck out four on 90 pitches. In his fourth start against Delmarva, Carlos Pena (3-3) took the loss for the Suns (30-20) after allowing four runs (one earned) on three hits in just 1.2 innings. He walked three and hit a batter, all in the second inning.

Ryan McKenna wasted no time getting Delmarva going, slashing a double down the left field line on the second pitch of the game. Jake Ring singled him up to third base, and Ring stole second to put two in scoring position. Preston Palmeiro hit a groundball to second base that chased McKenna home, making it 1-0.

The Shorebirds struck gold in the top of the second inning, all with two outs. Daniel Fajardo reached on a throwing error by Tyler Beckwith at short, and Pena walked Juvier and McKenna in succession to load the bases. Ring jumped on the first pitch he saw and cracked it to the wall in right. All three runners scored on Ring's SAL-best 17th double of the season, putting Delmarva up 4-0.

Chris Clare was then hit by a pitch and Palmeiro walked, leading to the hook for Pena. Yonathan Ramirez came on to get Collin Woody to pop out and limit the damage to just three runs.

Delmarva got an RBI single from Alejandro Juvier in the third and a sac fly from Cole Billingsley in the fourth to go up 6-0.

The Suns began the long road back in the bottom of the fourth. Jakson Reetz led off with a single and went to second on a throwing error. Anderson Franco then hit a bloop double, putting men on second and third with nobody out. Muckenhirn got the next two batters out, but Blake Perkins slashed a single into right to plate both runners and cut the Shorebird lead to 6-2.

Hagerstown's next big chance came in the bottom of the seventh. With Kory Groves on the hill, Daniel Johnson took the first pitch of the inning in the foot. Jake Noll then doubled off the wall in center, moving Johnson up to third. Nick Banks grounded out to deep second to score Johnson, and Noll scored moments later on a wild pitch to make it 6-4.

After a walk to Reetz brought the tying run to the plate, Tyler Erwin came in from the bullpen to face the slugger Franco. Franco tagged a hot liner to Clare at short, and Clare rifled a throw to first base to double off Reetz and get out of the inning.

Erwin would retire the Suns in order in the eighth, earning his first hold of the year.

Delmarva got some breathing room in the top of the ninth. Clare led off with a walk, and Palmeiro socked a two-run homer over the visiting bullpen and ad wall in right center. The 401-foot blast was Palmeiro's fourth of the year and second at Municipal Stadium.

Jake Bray then came in and retired Hagerstown in order, getting a great leaping catch against the wall by Ring along the way.

Palmeiro finished 2-for-4 with the home run and three RBIs; he is batting .389 with six RBIs over his last 10 games. Ring went 2-for-5 with the three-run double for his 17th multi-hit and 12th multi-RBI game of the year. McKenna finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs; he had scored just one run in his previous 15 games.

Noll led the way at the plate for Hagerstown, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run. Perkins went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

The Shorebirds and Suns continue the series on Tuesday night with Matthias Dietz (0-4, 5.62) squaring off against Tyler Watson (4-1, 3.42). First pitch is 7:05 p.m., and 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.

Delmarva Shorebirds ---------------------------- The Delmarva Shorebirds are the Class "A" affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Shorebirds are owned by 7th Inning Stretch, LLC, the same company that owns the Stockton Ports of the California League and the Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League.

The Shorebirds are celebrating their 22nd season in 2017 and have entertained nearly five million fans since beginning play at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland in 1996. The team captured South Atlantic League titles in 1997 and 2000 and successfully hosted the South Atlantic League All-Star Game in 1999 and 2011.

For more information on the Shorebirds, call 410-219-3112 or visit theshorebirds.com.

Check out the Delmarva Shorebirds Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 30, 2017


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