SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Delmarva Out-Duels West Virginia in Sixteen Innings

Published on June 8, 2016 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


CHARLESTON, WV -  One night after Delmarva won a 13-inning game that lasted four hours and 51 minutes, the Shorebirds took even longer to complete the second game of the series. But when the 16-inning marathon finally ended, Delmarva topped West Virginia 8-4 as they approached the midnight hour and the 'Birds took each of the first two games of the three game series.

Unlike Monday night's contest, Tuesday night's game had a great rhythm to it from the start. Cristian Alvarado and J.T. Brubaker both worked quickly and threw lots of strikes in six innings of work. The Shorebirds needed a strong outing from Alvarado after their bullpen was taxed for 12.1 frames last night, and he delivered in a big way. Alvarado gave up two solo homers to Tito Polo and Ke'Bryan Hayes, but nothing further over six strong innings. At one point, he and Patrick Baker had retired 15 consecutive West Virginia hitters between the fourth and eighth innings.

The Shorebirds scored first when DJ Stewart cracked an RBI double to right field, and they tied the game at 2-2 in the seventh on Ricardo Andujar's RBI single after the previously mentioned solo homers a couple innings beforehand.

In the top of the tenth, Delmarva had a golden opportunity to hang a crooked number on the scoreboard. Andujar walked and Drew Turbin was hit by a pitch. Cedric Mullins was batting and attempted to sacrifice both runners into scoring position, but he popped up his bunt in foul ground and first baseman Daniel Arribas made a terrific diving catch for the first out. Then Ryan Mountcastle delivered in a big way when he doubled off the fence in right field, scoring the go-ahead run in Andujar - but Turbin was held up at third base. Steart struck out and Alex Murphy popped out to end the inning, and even though Delmarva had the lead, they left a costly run on the bases.

In the home half of the tenth, John Bormann singled through the diamond to score Arribas and tie the game at 3-3. All-Star reliever Ryan Meisinger blew his third save of the season, but he limited the damage to just one run.

The score remained tied at 3-3 until the top of the 16th inning. Both teams left several runners on base in the frames leading up to the 16th, but Bobby Strader (1-2) and Jess Amedee (0-2) both battled out of tough spots. Delmarva finally broke through with five runs in the 16th. Cedric Mullins redeemed himself with a two-run double to right field. After Ryan Mountcastle singled, Power skipper Brian Esposito brought left fielder and knuckle-baller Logan Ratledge in to pitch. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Stewart and a long two-run homer to Alex Murphy. Armed with an 8-3 lead, the Shorebirds had the game nearly in hand.

But West Virginia wouldn't give in and Strader had difficulty finding home plate in the bottom of the 16th. Arribas led off with a single to left field and Strader walked three of the next four batters. Arribas came home on Strader's third balk of the night to make the game 8-4 and bring the tying run to the plate with the bases loaded. With Tito Polo batting, Ryan Minor was forced to turn to his bullpen.

The problem was, no relievers were available. Delmarva needed five pitchers on Monday night and had used their remaining three bullpen arms already. So the Shorebirds skipper handed the ball to outfielder Gerrion Grim in a do-or-die situation. Grim had never pitched professionally.

Polo had homered twice in the first two games of the series, but Grim's upper-80's fastball low in the zone got Polo to pop out to second baseman Drew Turbin in shallow right field. Then with two outs, Grim snapped off a sharp 1-2 curve ball to Mitchell Tollman, who swung at strike three and mercifully ended the contest.

While there have been plenty of nights were the Shorebirds pitching staff has served as a catalyst for their success, maybe no two games better exemplify the 'Birds dominance than it's last two affairs. The last two games have totaled 29 innings - almost nine and a half hours. In 22.1 innings pitched by the bullpen, Delmarva pitchers have allowed three collective earned runs - and one scored on a balk. The Shorebirds bullpen ERA on the season after Tuesday night's contest is a highly respectable 2.64. The Shorebirds are second in the South Atlantic League with a 3.12 ERA, tied for second with 19 saves, and they are third with 8.8 strikeouts per game.

The Shorebirds wrap up their road trip on Wednesday night in West Virginia with a 7:05 pm first pitch with a lot on the line. A win would give them a series sweep and a much-needed split of the six game road trip after losing three games in Greensboro. Delmarva also picked up a game on first place Hagerstown on Tuesday, and they are four games out of first place with 13 to play in the first half. Brendan Gulick will have the broadcast for both games beginning with Shorebirds On-Deck at 6:50 pm on Fox Sports AM 960 and online at theshorebirds.com.

Check out the Delmarva Shorebirds Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 8, 2016


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