Delmarva Falls to Hickory in the Finale
Shorebirds Lose Five of Six to Crawdads
HICKORY, NC: The Delmarva Shorebirds (42-78, 19-35) suffered their fourth consecutive loss to the Hickory Crawdads (71-46, 37-16) on Sunday, 4-2.
Stiven Martinez (12) put Delmarva on the board first with a solo home run with two outs in the third. His second homer of the week made it 1-0.
The Shorebirds capitalized on a throwing error in the fourth to score another run, putting them ahead 2-0.
Hickory came back and snatched the lead away in the fifth on a three-run homer by Marco Argudin (5), giving the Crawdads a 3-2 advantage.
The lead for the Crawdads grew in the seventh after Francisco Morao balked with a runner at third, putting the Shorebirds behind 4-2.
Delmarva's offense struggled against Hickory's pitching late in the game, as Jesus Lafalaise led the charge for the Crawdads' bullpen, throwing five innings, allowing one run on two hits, and striking out six.
The Shorebirds finished the game 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding seven, and fell in the finale 4-2.
Jesus Lafalaise (2-5) was the winning pitcher for Hickory, while Francisco Morao (0-1) took the loss for Delmarva in relief. William Privette (1) recorded the final three outs to earn the save.
Delmarva now returns home for the final homestand of the regular season, starting Tuesday when they host Fredericksburg, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.