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'Birds win fifth straight

August 18, 2008 - South Atlantic League (SAL) - Delmarva Shorebirds News Release

Salisbury, Md.- Tyler Henson's towering grand slam in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie and propelled the Shorebirds to the 8-2 win and the four-game sweep over the Sand Gnats on Monday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. Kieron Pope and Anthony Martinez also went deep in Delmarva's seven-run fifth inning that broke open a close game and paved the way for Zach Britton's team-leading 11th win of the season. Britton allowed just two runs on one hit over six innings and combined with Joe Esposito and Andrew Schindling for a two-hitter in the finale of the penultimate homestand of the season. Esposito struck out five Sand Gnats in two innings on the hill, while Schindling pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the victory. Savannah held a 1-0 lead through the first four and half innings behind their starter Mark Cohoon. Darren Clark's two-out RBI single in the second, the only base hit off Britton, scored Jefferies Tatford (hit-by-pitch) to give the Gnats the early edge. Delmarva would proceed to bat around in their half of the fifth, however, scoring seven times, matching their highest-scoring inning of the season. Monday's seven-run fifth matched May 18th's 6th inning against Greensboro, a game the Shorebirds won 10-2. Pope led off with a solo blast, his 12th of the year, to tie the game at one. With one out, Victor Castillo walked, Matt Angle singled, and Ryan Adams walked to load the bases. After fouling off a bunch of tough 3-2 pitches, Henson launched a moonshot over the left field fence, joining Joe Nowicki, Brian Valichka, and Adams as Shorebirds who have hit grannies this season. Two batters later, after Nowicki walked, Martinez drilled his third jack of the homestand and his 11th of the year to cap the sensational fifth inning.

Although Paco Figueroa was the only Shorebird to strikeout in the fifth, the second-baseman made amends with an RBI single in the seventh as Delmarva tacked on another run off the Savannah bullpen. The win was Delmarva's 5th in the row as they finish their eight game homestand with six wins. The Shorebirds receive a day of rest tomorrow and kick off their final road trip of the season Wednesday in Hagerstown.

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