Crawdads Take Series in Delmarva with 6-5 Win
Published on July 3, 2009 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
SALISBURY, MD - The Hickory Crawdads took the series finale against the Delmarva Shorebirds, 6-5, before 8,954 fans at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium on Friday night, also winning the four-game set, three-games-to-one.
The Crawdads (5-3) came out swinging in the first inning, plating three runs against RHP Ryan O'Shea (5-4). 2B Mike Hollander started the rally with a one-out walk, followed by three consecutive singles by 1B Erik Morrison, RF Mike Bianucci and 3B Matt West. West's base hit brought in Hollander, and then LF Cristian Santana registered an RBI on a ground ball hit to third base, scoring Morrison. Santana reached on an error on the play and the bases remained loaded for CF Jared Bolden. Bolden grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Bianucci and put Hickory ahead 3-0.
RHP Joe Wieland (2-0) retired the first nine batters he faced through three perfect frames to start the game, racking up seven strikeouts over that stretch, including a span of six straight strikeouts. However, Delmarva (4-5) capitalized on a pair of errors in the bottom of the fourth inning to get on the board and tie the score, 3-3.
Hickory came right back with two tallies in the top of the fifth, retaking a lead right away, 5-3. Morrison extended the inning with a two-out walk and was followed by a single by Bianucci. Both runners then came in on a two-out, two-run double by West to left-center field, putting Hickory back in the lead by two runs.
Wieland then came back in the bottom of the fifth and tossed a three-up, three-down frame with his season-high ninth strikeout of the game, in his final inning of work on the evening. Only one of the three runs he allowed, on only two hits, was earned.
After LHP Yoon-Hee Nam retired the Shorebirds in scoreless fashion in the sixth, the Crawdads extended their lead with an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Hollander again sparked the offense with a one-out double and Morrison promptly brought him in with a double down the left field line, making it 6-3.
The Shorebirds again made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, with two runs in the inning. Delmarva plated an unearned run against Nam and then struck for a tally against RHP Cody Eppley. Eppley, however, was able to navigate through the rest of the inning with the lead intact to close the 6-5 win for the Crawdads. Wieland earned the win and Eppley registered the save for the Crawdads, as O'Shea picked up the loss for Delmarva.
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