Fireflies Edge Shorebirds on a Wild Pitch in the Eighth
Delmarva's Win Streak Ends at Five
COLUMBIA, SC: The Delmarva Shorebirds (22-36) began the second half of their two-week road trip with a narrow 7-6 loss to the Columbia Fireflies (28-30).
The Shorebirds took an early lead in the top of the first when Stiven Martinez and DJ Layton executed a perfectly timed first-and-third steal, scoring Martinez and making it 1-0.
The lead was short-lived for Delmarva as the Fireflies scored five runs in the bottom of the first, using four hits and three walks from Esteban Mejia, to take a 5-1 advantage.
Delmarva's offense began to chip away over the next two innings, as run-scoring hits by Miguel Rodriguez in the second and DJ Layton in the third trimmed the deficit to 5-3.
The Fireflies got one of those runs back in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Connor Rasmussen, making it a 6-3 game.
In the seventh, the Shorebirds continued their comeback as DJ Layton (4) ignited the rally with a solo home run off the bat at 109 MPH, pulling Delmarva within 6-4. A few batters later, Jaiden Lo Re tied the game with a two-run double, scoring Elvin Garcia and Andrés Nolaya to make it 6-6.
However, Columbia delivered the final blow, scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth to retake the lead on a wild pitch that advanced Henry Reyes two bases, allowing him to score from second and give the Fireflies a 7-6 advantage. They'd win by that score to end Delmarva's five-game winning streak.
Henson Leal (3-4) was the winning relief pitcher for Columbia, with Dalton Neuschwander (1-4) taking the loss for Delmarva.
The Shorebirds will try to even the series with Columbia on Wednesday, with Brayan Orrantia taking the mound against Jose Gutierrez for the Fireflies. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM.