SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Knight Shines, Turchin Goes Yard as 'Birds Win Opener

Published on April 11, 2019 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds rode their hot start all the way back home, downing the Lakewood BlueClaws 6-3 on Thursday night in the home opener at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

Blaine Knight (1-0) earned his first professional win in his second start for the Shorebirds (5-1). The Orioles' No. 10 prospect went five scoreless innings, scattering two hits and two walks while striking out six on 76 pitches. Dominic Pipkin (0-1) took the loss for the BlueClaws (3-5), giving up four runs (two earned) on four hits in three-plus frames. Tim Naughton earned his first save with two perfect innings to finish off the night.

Delmarva first broke through thanks to some Lakewood miscues in the bottom of the third. Daniel Fajardo led off with a single and Branden Becker walked to put two on. A passed ball let both runners advance a base, and two batters later Robert Neustrom grounded out to second to chase home Fajardo. Adam Hall followed with a grounder to second that Cole Stobbe threw away, allowing Becker to score to make it 2-0 Shorebirds.

Doran Turchin attacked the first pitch of the fourth inning and rocked a solo home run to left, the first one at Perdue Stadium since the installation of the new 360-degree deck beyond the outfield wall. Seamus Curran followed the blast with a single to left, knocking Pipkin out of the game. After a wild pitch from new pitcher Oscar Marcelino, Fajardo singled Curran to third, and Becker brought him home with a sac fly to put Delmarva up 4-0.

The BlueClaws made their move in the top of the sixth. Alec Bohm led off with a single, then after a fielder's choice, Matt Kroon singled and Rafael Marchan hit a hard one to right that Neustrom couldn't handle for an RBI double. Carlos De La Cruz then chopped a grounder to the left side that Cadyn Grenier hustled to get to, but Grenier's throw to first skipped past the bag. The single-and-error brought home Marchan, and Jake Holmes' sac fly moments later got Lakewood within one run at 4-3.

The Shorebirds wasted no time reinforcing their advantage, plating two in the home sixth. Curran led off with a single, and Fajardo got hit by a pitch to put two on. After a strikeout and walk to Grenier, Neustrom lifted a flyball deep enough to center to score Curran. Hall followed with a soft liner into right center for a base hit, plating Fajardo to push the Shorebird lead to 6-3.

Nick Gruener settled down after a shaky sixth to get three in a row in the seventh, and Naughton retired the next six all in a row to finish the job and send an opening night crowd of 3,869 home happy following a Q105 Fireworks show.

Turchin grabbed headlines at the plate for the Shorebirds, going 2-for-4 with a double, homer, and RBI. Curran had two singles and scored two runs, while Fajardo reached all four times he came to the plate (single, HBP, walk) and scored twice. Neustrom picked up two RBIs despite going 0-for-3.

The six-through-nine men in the Shorebird order - Turchin, Curran, Fajardo, and Becker - combined for seven of the team's 10 hits, all six runs, and two RBIs.

Bohm finished 2-for-4 with a double for the BlueClaws. Marchan went 1-for-3 with a double, walk, run, and RBI.

Delmarva remains one of just two teams in the Sally League with one loss. Northern first-place Hickory also won to improve to 7-1.

The Shorebirds go for their fourth win in a row on Friday night against Lakewood. Grayson Rodriguez (1-0, 0.00) makes his home debut for Delmarva against Lakewood's Victor Santos (1-0, 0.00). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00. The first 1,000 fans through the gates on Friday night will receive a Shorebirds 2019 schedule poster. It's also the first Orange Friday game of the season, as well as Froggy 99.9 Big Beer Friday presented by First Class HVAC and a Hit the Books Game presented by Dr. Crouse at The Brace Place. Pregame coverage on Fox Sports 960 AM and the MiLB First Pitch App beginning at 6:50 with Will DeBoer on the call.

Check out the Delmarva Shorebirds Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 11, 2019


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