Eighty-Four Shorebirds Set Franchise Record
August 20, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release
SALISBURY, MD - In a fittingly topsy-turvy contest, the Delmarva Shorebirds emerged victorious with their franchise record 84th win, 6-5 over the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Tuesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.
With the win, the Shorebirds (36-20, 84-41) now sit all alone in franchise history, besting the inaugural 1996 ballclub that finished 83-59. The next milestone up for Delmarva is the 90-win mark, last attained in the South Atlantic League in 2006 by the Augusta GreenJackets, who went 92-47.
With the game tied 5-5, Adam Hall was hit by a pitch to start the eighth inning for the Shorebirds. Hall proceeded to swipe second base and advanced to third when the throw leaked into center field. After a strikeout, Hall came home to score on a wild pitch, winning a mad dash to the plate and sliding in ahead of a near-simultaneous tag from Greensboro catcher Zac Susi and to put Delmarva ahead 6-5.
Felix Bautista (2-2) was awarded the win in relief for the Shorebirds after allowing a run on two hits and two walks while striking out two in the eighth. Christofer Melendez (2-3) was saddled with the loss for the Grasshoppers (29-27, 73-52) after giving up the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. Ruben Garcia fired a perfect ninth, striking out two, to earn his sixth save of the year for the Shorebirds.
Greensboro plated the first run of the game in their first turn at the plate. Ji-Hwan Bae singled with two away and then came in to score when Fabricio Macias rocketed a double to right center to put the Grasshoppers up 1-0.
That lead was short lived as Delmarva plated three in the bottom of the first. Shayne Fontana and Johnny Rizer each singled to begin the inning, and Hall followed with a walk to load the bases. Ryne Ogren drew another walk, which forced in Fontana and tied the game at 1-1. Seamus Curran followed with a sacrifice fly to right to give the Shorebirds a 2-1 edge. After a walk to Nick Horvath loaded the bases again, Jean Carlos Encarnacion worked a free pass to make it 3-1 Delmarva.
A three-run fourth jumped Greensboro back in front. Bae walked to start the frame and Macias scored him again as he blasted a triple to right to make it just a 3-2 deficit for the Grasshoppers. Luke Mangieri then tied the game as he dropped an RBI single to center that was subsequently muffed by Nick Horvath, allowing Mangieri to scoot into second base. A wild pitch then allowed Mangieri to move to third. Two batters later, Michael Grettler lofted a sacrifice fly to left, pushing Greensboro back in front 4-3.
A scrappy fifth saw the Shorebirds tie the game back up. Hall slapped a single to right to open the inning and, after a flyout, Curran grounded a single up the middle sending Hall to third. Nick Horvath followed with a laser of an RBI single to left, knotting the game up at 4-4.
Back-to-back doubles to begin the sixth gave Delmarva the lead back. Fontana provided the first of those two-base hits by slapping one to center, and Johnny Rizer followed by bouncing his two-bagger down the left field line to score Fontana and give the Shorebirds a 5-4 lead.
Greensboro brought the game back to level in the eighth. Mangieri walked to start the inning and moved to second on a groundout. After another bounce out, Zac Susi beat out an infield single that pushed Mangieri to third with two away. Zach Kone then tied the game up at 5-5 as he laced an RBI single to center, setting up Hall's mad dash in the bottom half.
Rizer went 3-for-5 with an RBI double for the Shorebirds, while Curran also had three hits, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Hall racked up his 43rd multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-3 with three runs, a walk, and two stolen bases. Fontana continued his strong start with Delmarva, picking up two more hits, including a double, and scoring two runs.
Macias lead the charge for Greensboro, going 2-for-5 with a double, triple, and two RBIs plus a run scored. Bae also had two hits, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs and a walk. Out of the No. 9 spot, Kone smashed a double and picked up an RBI single in a 2-for-4 performance.
Dallas Litscher started for Delmarva but did not factor in the decision. Litscher went five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out eight.
Noe Toribio went 4.1 innings in a no-decision for Greensboro, allowing four runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out seven.
The Shorebirds go toe-to-toe with the Grasshoppers again on Wednesday night. Gray Fenter (7-2, 1.98) draws the start for Delmarva against Will Kobos (1-2, 2.84) of Greensboro. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00. No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman is expected to join the Shorebirds and be in uniform. Wednesday night at Perdue Stadium is the final Silver Sluggers game of the season, presented by Peninsula Home Care, with the first 1,000 fans getting to play baseball bingo. Pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App begins at 6:50 with Will DeBoer and Sam Jellinek on the call.
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