SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

'Birds Waltz to Fourth Straight Win

Published on April 28, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


HICKORY, NC - The Delmarva Shorebirds drew a pair of bases-loaded walks in the top of the eighth inning to stroll past the Hickory Crawdads 4-2 for their fourth straight win on Saturday night at L.P. Frans Stadium.

With the game tied 2-2, T.J. Nichting rolled a one-out single through the right side. After a groundout, Will Robertson took a Joe Kuzia fastball between the shoulderblades. Joe Barlow then came in from the bullpen and promptly issued a four-pitch walk to Ben Breazeale to load the bases. Up came Frank Crinella, and after fouling a two-strike pitch, Crinella watched a 3-2 fastball sail high and to the backstop, forcing in Nichting with the go-ahead run. Kirvin Moesquit's path to first was easier; Barlow walked him on four pitches to score Robertson and put the Shorebirds (16-7) up 4-2.

The Crawdads (7-14) had their chance in the bottom of the ninth against Delmarva closer Travis Seabrooke. With two out and down to his final strike, Tyler Ratliff hit a grounder up the middle through Seabrooke's legs. Moesquit got in front of the ball but bobbled it, allowing Ratliff to beat the throw by a step. Kole Enright singled on the next pitch, putting the tying runs on base.

Seabrooke shook it off, though, getting Chad Smith to chase an inside breaking ball and nailing down his team-best third save of the year.

Zach Muckenhirn (1-0) picked up his first win in relief with a pair of scoreless innings. Kuzia (0-1) took the loss as the two eighth-inning runs were charged to him.

The big fly was in vogue for both teams in the early stages of the game. Hickory grabbed an early lead when Sam Huff took Zac Lowther deep to right for a solo home run in the second inning.

In the top of the fourth, Seamus Curran blasted the first pitch from Jean Casanova over the back ad wall in right for a solo home run. Nichting cranked the very next pitch to nearly the same spot for his first homer of the year. The first back-to-back jacks of the year for the Shorebirds put them up 2-1.

Ratliff answered in the bottom of the fifth with a solo blast to left to tie the game at 2-2. The Crawdads got the next two men on and threatened to surge ahead, but Lowther buckled down and got through the rest of the inning cleanly.

Lowther clocked his second Quality Start in a no-decision, allowing two runs on four hits in six innings while walking one and striking out eight. Lowther had only given up one home run in his pro career before serving up the long balls to Huff and Ratliff.

Casanova shook off the Curran and Nichting shots to give Hickory five solid innings of two-run, eight-hit ball.

Nichting headlined the Shorebirds at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs, and two runs. Curran homered for the second straight game, giving him four on the season; he finished 2-for-5. Robertson went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Zach Jarrett added a single and double for his third straight multi-hit game.

Ratliff and Enright each had a pair of hits for the Crawdads.

Delmarva matched its high-water mark of the season by improving to nine games over .500; the team was 11-2 after a win at Hagerstown on April 18.

The Shorebirds try for their first series sweep in Hickory in nearly 10 years on Sunday afternoon. DL Hall (0-0, 1.13) is on the hill for Delmarva against the Crawdads' Reid Anderson (1-2, 2.41). First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m., and pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 2:45 with Will DeBoer on the call.

Check out the Delmarva Shorebirds Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 28, 2018


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