Delmarva's Valiant Comeback Effort Falls One Run Short
Shorebirds Unable to Overcome Five Errors
SALISBURY, MD: The Delmarva Shorebirds (29-54, 6-11) narrowly fell to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (42-41, 9-8) on Wednesday, 9-8.
The Cannon Ballers struck first in the top of the first inning, with RBI singles from Matthew Boughton and Stiven Flores, giving them a 2-0 lead.
It remained 2-0 into the sixth, when Kannapolis scored four runs on three Delmarva errors, three of which were unearned, to take a 6-0 advantage.
The game took a quick turn as Delmarva's offense heated up, starting with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, when an RBI groundout by Félix Amparo and a two-run single by DJ Layton cut the deficit to 6-3.
Kannapolis answered with one run in the seventh on an RBI single by Steven Lancina, going back up by four at 7-3.
The Shorebirds came back with three more runs in the next half inning on a two-run single by Raylin Ramos and a sacrifice fly by Jose Perez, pulling Delmarva to within one at 7-6.
The Cannon Ballers had another answer in the top of the eighth, scoring twice on RBI singles from Steven Lancina and Jaden Fauske, taking a 9-6 lead.
Delmarva used the home run ball to produce two runs of their own as Jordan Sanchez (5) and Elvin Garcia (2) each launched solo shots in the eighth, making it a one-run game again at 9-8.
However, they were unable to get over the hump, as they did not score in the final inning and fell just short against the Cannon Ballers.
Blaine Wynk (4-3) was the winning reliever, with Andrew Herbert (3-3) taking the loss for Delmarva. Jesus Mendez (1) recorded the final three outs to earn the save.
The Shorebirds will try to secure their first win of the series on Thursday, as Brayan Orrantia toes the rubber against Caedmon Parker for Kappanplis. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.