Stiven Martinez Homers Twice to Lead Shorebirds over Woodpeckers
Delmarva Takes the Opener Against Fayetteville
SALISBURY, MD: The Delmarva Shorebirds (14-20) opened their six-game series against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (13-21) with a 7-2 win on Tuesday afternoon.
The Shorebirds jumped out to a quick lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by DJ Layton, scoring Braylon Whitaker and making it 1-0.
The Shorebirds got a sensational start from Caden Hunter, who threw 4.2 perfect innings, retiring the first 14 batters he faced before a two-out walk in the fifth. He struck out a career-high 10 batters.
With the score still 1-0 in the seventh, the Woodpeckers tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Josh Wakefield. Arturo Flores put Fayetteville in front for the first time with an RBI single, making it 2-1 entering the bottom half.
Stiven Martinez delivered an immediate response for Delmarva, tying the game with a home run to straightaway center field. His 417-foot blast made it 2-2.
Félix Amparo put the Shorebirds back in the lead with an RBI groundout, scoring Joshua Liranzo from third and giving Delmarva a 3-2 advantage entering the eighth.
In the next inning, Junior Aybar added to Delmarva's lead with an RBI double; his third hit of the day gave the Shorebirds a 4-2 edge. Stiven Martinez struck again, hitting a three-run homer to the opposite field, marking his first career multi-homer game and giving him home runs in back-to-back at-bats. That gave Delmarva their largest lead at 7-2.
Todd Kniebbe pitched a scoreless ninth for the Shorebirds, securing a 7-2 win over the Woodpeckers in the series opener.
Kenny Leiner (1-0) earned the win in relief, while Todd Kniebbe (3) recorded his third save. Ryan Verdugo (1-2) took the loss for Fayetteville.
The Shorebirds look to take the first two games of the series as Esteban Mejia gets the ball on Wednesday against Nick Potter for the Woodpeckers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.