Shorebirds Blanked by Crawdads on Friday Night
Three Runs in the Fifth the Difference for Hickory
HICKORY, NC: The Delmarva Shorebirds (42-76, 19-33) suffered their second straight loss to the Hickory Crawdads (69-46, 35-16) on Friday, falling 3-0.
Esteban Mejia continued his strong run on the mound for the Shorebirds with a third consecutive scoreless start, firing 3.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits, with five strikeouts and one walk.
With the game still scoreless in the fifth, the Crawdads ended the tie with a bunt single by Sebastian Baquera, with two errors also occurring on the play to give Hickory a 1-0 lead. Run-producing base hits by Marco Argudin and Pablo Guerrero extended their advantage to 3-0.
The Shorebirds had a tough time generating offense against Hickory starter Moises Morales, who threw six scoreless innings, allowing five hits with no walks and striking out four.
Jake Barbee continued the shutout for the Crawdads by keeping Delmarva off the board over the final three innings, completing a 3-0 victory for Hickory.
Moises Morales (9-2) earned the win as the starter for the Crawdads, with Brandon Downer (1-1) taking the loss. The save was credited to Jake Barbee (1), who recorded the final nine outs.
Delmarva looks to get back in the series on Saturday with Francisco Morao taking the mound against Jacob Johnson for Hickory. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM.