Walker, Hernandez Twirl Gem in 2-0 Shutout

July 1, 2015 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Delmarva Shorebirds News Release

SALISBURY, Md. -- The Delmarva Shorebirds submitted a masterful pitching performance for a 2-0 victory over the Lakewood BlueClaws on Wednesday night. Josh Walker and Ivan Hernandez dominated the night for Delmarva's seventh shutout victory of the season.

Coming off a difficult outing against Hagerstown, Shorebirds' starter Josh Walker pitched the finest start of his young career. Walker had never pitched past the fifth inning as a pro, until his seven scoreless frames on Wednesday. The right-hander allowed just three hits and zero walks while matching his career-high with six strikeouts.

In a pitchers' duel, BlueClaws' starter Tyler Viza matched Walker until the seventh inning. Delmarva broke the scoreless tie to give Walker all the run support he needed. Steve Wilkerson led off the frame with a single, and moved over on a sacrifice bunt by T.J. Olesczuk and single by Logan Uxa. Cam Kneeland sent a deep drive to center, caught by Jiandido Tromp on the warning track for a sacrifice fly and a 1-0 lead.

The Shorebirds pushed across a crucial insurance run in the eighth inning. Three consecutive singles by Jared Breen, Jay Gonzalez and Wilkerson doubled Delmarva's lead to 2-0. Ivan Hernandez had no trouble in a perfect ninth inning, striking out Damek Tomscha to secure the win.

Walker improved his record to 3-1, while lowering his season ERA by over a point. Hernandez pitched two scoreless innings, completing Delmarva's seventh shutout of the year and picking up his first save as a Shorebird. Viza fell to 4-3 despite pitching very well for Lakewood.

Delmarva goes for their second straight series win to start the second half on Thursday night. Right-hander Matthew Grimes (6-4, 4.21) takes the bump for Delmarva opposite right-hander Ranfi Casimiro (3-5, 3.63) for Lakewood. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

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