SAL1 Delmarva Shorebirds

Shorebirds Game Notes 5.27.08

Published on May 26, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release


Gleason Strives To Even Series... Desperately in need of a win that would split the four-game series in Greensboro, the Shorebirds will rely on righthander Sean Gleason to continue his dominance during the month of May. Since taking over for the injured John Mariotti in the starting rotation, Gleason has been magnificent, compiling a 2-0 record in four starts with a miniscule 0.90 ERA. More importantly, Delmarva is unbeaten in Gleason's starts.

Nowicki Riding Nine-Game Hit Streak... Over the last nine games, Shorebirds right-fielder Joe Nowicki is 16-33 with three home runs, four doubles, and eight runs batted in. Nowicki's streak is the third longest on the Shorebirds this year. Third-baseman Tyler Henson has already recorded separate hitting streaks of ten and twelve games.

Greensboro Hops Away From Delmarva...The Shorebirds scored first, but the Grasshoppers scored last. Overcoming a 1-0 deficit and a 4-3 deficit, Greensboro scored the final eight runs to pound Delmarva 11-4 on Monday night. Hunter Mense led the ‘Hoppers with a pair of home runs, a solo shot in the fifth to tie the game at four and a three run mammoth blast in the sixth to break open the ballgame 10-4. Once again, the Shorebird offense was led by Joe Nowicki. Delmarva's right-fielder went 3-4 to raise his batting average to .304. The offensive highlight for the Shorebirds came in the third when Nowicki belted his sixth homer of the season, a three-run shot to put the Birds on top 4-3. The Shorebirds scored all four runs off starter Alejandro Sanabia in the first three innings, but were blanked by the Greensboro bullpen in the final six frames. Eric Basurto earned the win, Don Czyz picked up the save, and they combined to shutout Delmarva for the final two-thirds, allowing just two hits and no walks. The Shorebird defense hurt them early. While a two-out error in the first inning did not impact Delmarva on the scoreboard, the shaky fielding early behind starter Zach Britton was a harbinger of things to come. Greensboro scored three times in the second inning, yet only recorded one hit in the frame. Three Delmarva miscues handed the ‘Hoppers a troika of unearned runs. Although Nowicki's homer gave Delmarva the lead again, Greensboro's offense erupted in the middle innings and the Grasshoppers ran away with the third game of the four game series. With the loss, the Shorebirds fall into a second-place tie with the Hagerstown Suns at 27-23, four and a half games back of first-place Lake County.

Hopper's Nip Shorebirds in Game Two.... Another close game, and this time the Shorebirds could not find the clutch hit. With a pair of solo home runs, the Grasshoppers knocked off the Shorebirds 2-1 behind their strong pitching staff. Starter Kyle Kaminska controlled the contest for the first five innings, allowing just a single unearned run on four hits. The final four innings were controlled by AJ Battisto, Corey Madden, and Garrett Parcell, who teamed up for four shutout frames to finish off Delmarva. Bryan Petersen jacked his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot with two down in the first to put the ‘Hoppers on top early. Although the Shorebirds knotted the score at 1-1 when Matt Angle crossed the plate after Ozzie Martinez' throwing error, the tie score was short-lived. Mike Stanton's sixth dinger of the season gave Greensboro a 2-1 edge which would last for the duration of the game. Shorebirds starter Tony Butler pitched decently for his first appearance since coming off the disabled list. Butler went three and two-thirds innings, allowing just one run on three hits. The southpaw retired the final nine batters he faced. Aubrey Miller replaced Butler and was greeted rudely by Greensboro. The first batter he faced was Stanton, who went deep to give the ‘Hoppers the lead. The loss snaps Delmarva's three game winning streak and moves them three and a half games back of first place Lake County. Meanwhile, Greensboro snaps their four game losing skid with the win.

The Beginning of the End... With 15 of the next 18 games on the road, the Shorebirds are ready to battle for their first-half playoff lives beginning tonight against Greensboro. Delmarva begins the road trip in second place in the Northern Division, three and a half games behind Lake County, and needs to transfer their success to the road if they hope to remain in contention. With just seven of the remaining 22 games being played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, the Birds' first-half will be decided by their ability to compete away from home. Entering this eight-game trip to Greensboro and Hagerstown, the Birds are 8-10 on the road, losers of four straight games outside of Salisbury.

Defensive Disaster... The Shorebirds lead the South Atlantic League in the not-so-prestigious category of errors. In 50 games, the Birds have made 89 errors. Second-baseman Ryan Adams leads the team with 26.

Clutch Shorebirds... Delmarva has been money in close games so far this year, winners of 17 of 26 contests that have been decided by two runs or less. Their incredible prowess in these narrowly decided matchups has allowed the Shorebirds to achieve an incredible statistical feat. Although they have been outscored by their opponents over the course of the season (217-201) by 16 runs, Delmarva resides at four games above .500.

First-Inning Success... One of the reasons that the Shorebirds pitching staff has been very steady all season long has been its ability to begin games on the right foot. So far, the opposing team has only scored a run in the first inning six times. Delmarva starters have a 1.44 ERA in the first inning of games.

2007 in Review...Delmarva went 68-68 on the year, 34-33 in the first half and 34-35 in the second half... The Shorebirds were 6th in the 16-team South Atlantic League with a 3.91 ERA... They pitching to a 3.65 ERA (1015.2 IP, 412ER) following a 5.16 mark (205.2 IP, 118ER) in April... Delmarva was 2nd in the SAL with 1,074 strikeouts and allowed the 3rd fewest hits (1,126) and home runs (73) in the league... The Shorebirds were 9th in stolen bases (145), 10th in runs scored (662), 12th in average (.259), hits (1,210) and home runs (88), and 13th in walks (433)... Delmarva won a season-high 9 straight games, May 31-June 9, and had a season-high 7-game losing streak, April 25-May 1. Four Shorebirds played in the 2007 SAL All-Star Game, including pitchers Taylor Bergesen and Jeff Moore, right fielder Brandon Tripp, and first basemen Chris Vinyard. Tripp finished the season with a .288 average, 19 homers, and 79 RBI; consequently, he earned the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the year award as the Orioles' best position prospect.

Check out the Delmarva Shorebirds Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 26, 2008


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