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SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Delmarva Dodges Disaster in Nail-Biting Win

June 14, 2016 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


SALISBURY, MD - Sometimes, the 27th out can be the most elusive. The Shorebirds took a 5-1 lead into the ninth inning on Tuesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, but surrendered three unearned runs in a dramatic finish as they held on for a critical 5-4 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators.

Delmarva's second straight win, coupled with Hagerstown's second straight loss in Lakewood, means the Shorebirds (37-26) are just two games out of first place with six games left in the first half. Delmarva seeks its first playoff bid since 2005, when they were Northern Division Champions in the second half of the year.

Ofelky Peralta (3-3, 2.89) completely overpowered the Intimidators (23-42) early in the game with a fastball that consistently sat between 93-96 miles per hour. He struck out four of the first five hitters and had allowed just one check-swing base hit through four innings. He finished the night with seven strikeouts through five innings to earn his third professional win.

Yermin Mercedes ripped a double to left field in the first inning to give the Shorebirds an early 1-0 lead. Austin Anderson and Drew Turbin drove home three runs in the home half of the fourth and Delmarva had a comfortable 4-0 edge early on. Kannapolis plated a run on Tyler Sullivan's RBI single in the fifth and Alex Murphy added a run for the Shorebirds in the eighth with a sacrifice fly.

Despite a cushy lead, the final three outs were anything but routine. Seby Zavala opened the frame with a strikeout. Then Danny Mendick reached on Mountcastle's error at shortstop. Cody Daily stepped to the plate and tripled into the right field corner, just past the out-stretched arms of the diving Gerrion Grim. Grim got up and threw to the cut-off man Turbin, who relayed a ball home that sailed toward the third base dugout. Mendick scored on the play, but Daily was quickly gunned down as he got greedy and tried to add another run. The Shorebirds momentarily averted disaster with a 5-2 lead and one out to play.

But the Intimidators weren't finished. Antonio Rodriguez walked and Kyle Ruchim reached on Mountcastle's second error of the inning. Then Tyler Sullivan came through in a big way for Kannapolis when he lashed a two-run double into the left field corner to make the score 5-4, and he represented the tying run in scoring position.

Christian Turnipseed finally had enough. After three unearned runs had scored, the Shorebirds closer earned his ninth save by striking out Grant Massey to end the night. It was Delmarva's 13th strikeout of the evening as a pitching staff.

The Shorebirds run their win streak to four in a row, while Kannapolis has dropped six straight games. The series finale is set for Wednesday night at 7:05 pm with Brian Gonzalez (5-3, 2.33) on the mound. Brendan Gulick will have the broadcast beginning with Shorebirds On-Deck at 6:50 pm on Fox Sports AM 960 and online at theshorebirds.com.

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