Delmarva's Offense Comes Up Clutch in Doubleheader Sweep over Hill City
Shorebirds Score Double-Digit Runs in Both Wins
LYNCHBURG, VA: The Delmarva Shorebirds (34-59, 11-16) swept Thursday's doubleheader against the Hill City Howlers (40-53, 9-18), winning the first game 10-9 in extra innings and the second 13-5.
GAME 1
The Howlers went ahead 2-0 in the first inning on a two-run homer by Luis De La Cruz (10).
In the second, Reiner Herrera led off the inning with a triple and scored moments later on a balk, making it 3-0.
Hill City added another home run in the third to extend their lead as Cannon Peebles (7) went deep, putting the Shorebirds behind 4-0.
Delmarva rallied quickly in the top of the fifth, with a two-run single by Félix Amparo and an RBI single by Jose Perez, making it a 4-3 game. Moments later, DJ Layton tied the game with a triple that scored Perez, evening the game at four apiece.
The Howlers regained the lead by scoring five runs in the bottom of the fifth, taking their largest lead at 9-4.
However, the Shorebirds remained resilient as they counterpunched in the top of the sixth, starting with another Jose Perez RBI single to make it 9-5. A bases-loaded walk to Jaiden Lo Re trimmed the deficit to 9-6. DJ Layton then struck again with a bases-clearing double to tie the game at nine, giving Layton a career-high four RBIs.
Kailen Hamson kept the Howlers off the board in the sixth, and Riley Cooper followed suit, tossing a scoreless seventh to force the game into extras, tied at nine.
In the top of the eighth, Jaiden Lo Re gave Delmarva their first lead of the game with a two-out RBI single that scored Junior Aybar, making it 10-9.
Riley Cooper came back out for the bottom of the eighth and got the job done by retiring all three batters he faced, leaving the tying run at third and completing Delmarva's first extra-innings win of the season and their best comeback victory, rallying from five runs down to win 10-9.
The win was awarded to Riley Cooper (1-0), and Javi Torres (1-4) took the loss for Hill City.
GAME 2
The Shorebirds picked up right where they left off in the first game, scoring twice in the second inning on a fielder's choice off the bat of Miguel Rodriguez. DJ Layton beat the throw to home to make it 1-0. Rodriguez scored moments later on an RBI single by Félix Amparo, putting Delmarva ahead 2-0.
In the third, the Shorebirds doubled their lead with an RBI double by Jaiden Lo Re and a run-scoring single by Jordan Sanchez, extending the lead to 4-0.
The Howlers roared back quickly, scoring five times in the bottom of the third in a bat-around inning to snatch the lead, going in front 5-4.
With the game still 5-4 in the sixth, Miguel Rodriguez delivered an RBI single to tie the game at five, with DJ Layton scoring.
Delmarva's bats stayed hot, coming up clutch in the final inning and exploding for eight runs. It all started with a go-ahead RBI single from Jordan Sanchez, putting the Shorebirds back in the lead at 6-5. DJ Layton followed with a run-scoring single, and an error on the play allowed a second run to score, making it 8-5. A bases-loaded walk to Elvin Garcia pushed the lead to 9-5. Junior Aybar brought another run home on an error. A successful first-and-third steal put Delmarva into double digits for the second straight game, making it 11-5. The inning concluded with a Félix Amparo RBI single and a bases-loaded walk to Jordan Sanchez, putting Delmarva ahead 13-5.
Luis Beltrán got the final three outs in order in the bottom of the seventh to finish a 13-5 win, giving the Shorebirds a sweep of the doubleheader against Hill City.
Michael Caldon (2-1) earned the win in relief, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings. The loss went to Luke Fernandez (6-3) for the Howlers.
The Shorebirds aim for a third straight win on Friday, with Christian Rodriguez taking the mound against Ryan Prager. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM.