Greensboro Grasshoppers outlast Delmarva to complete Sweep with Brendan Gulick on the call

GREENSBORO OUTLASTS DELMARVA TO COMPLETE SWEEP
Shorebirds Couldn’t Hold a One Run Lead in the Seventh
(Courtesy of Brendan Gulick, Delmarva Shorebirds Baseball)

GREENSBORO, NC – When Delmarva has turned to Ryan Meisinger in relief this season, he has proven to be almost perfect. He entered the game having allowed one run on the season. But on Saturday night at NewBridge Bank Park, Meisinger couldn’t hold a 3-2 lead in the back end of the game and the Shorebirds were swept in Greensboro, 4-3.

The game was anything but routine. Greensboro (29-27) struck first when Anfernee Seymour stole home in the bottom of the first inning. The Shorebirds had Josh Naylor picked off first base, but failed to execute the rundown properly and Naylor got back to first base safely after Seymour crossed home plate.

Alex Murphy quickly retaliated in the top of the second with his ninth homer of the season. His solo blast of 422 feet to dead center field came off the bat at 103 miles per hour and easily left the ball park and tied the game. Delmarva (30-24) nearly took the lead later in the inning on Ademar Rifaela’s single to center field, but Zach Sullivan threw a rocket to home plate and beat Austin Anderson’s sliding attempt.

Greensboro’s next run came in the fifth inning. A wild pitch from Brian Gonzalez moved Sullivan from second to third, and Angel Reyes’ two out single through the middle put the ‘Hoppers back on top 2-1. Gonzalez didn’t factor into the decision, going five innings with six hits and two earned runs against him.

But the ‘Birds weren’t done fighting. DJ Stewart and Yermin Mercedes led off the sixth with singles, they moved up on Murphy’s ground out, and Stewart scored on Anderson’s ground out behind the bag at second to tie the game. Mercedes moved to third base, where he scored with two outs a couple batters later on Rifaela’s single through the box. Delmarva had it’s first lead of the game at 3-2.

That’s when Greensboro rallied in the seventh. Casey Soltis led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Seymour. Sullivan hit a ball to short that Ryan Mountcastle mishandled and runners were safely on the corners. The thumpers in the Grasshoppers order did their job, as Josh Naylor and Angel Reyes delivered back-to-back RBI singles to right field and put Greensboro back out front for good, 4-3.

The game also featured a pair of pickoffs (one for Gonzalez and one for Greensboro starter Cody Poteet) and two runners who reached safely on a strikeout-wild pitch.

The Shorebirds have their first scheduled off day on Sunday since May 11th. On Monday night, they’ll open a three game series in West Virginia, Class A Affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Shorebirds are 5.5 games out of first place with 15 games left in the first half, but their playoff hopes are still alive. Brendan Gulick will have the broadcast for both games beginning with Shorebirds On-Deck at 6:50 pm on Fox Sports AM 960 and online at theshorebirds.com.

Delmarva Shorebirds
—————————-
The Delmarva Shorebirds are the Class “A” Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Shorebirds are owned by 7th Inning Stretch, LLC, the same company that owns the Stockton Ports of the California League and the Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League.

The Shorebirds celebrated their 20th season in 2015, and have entertained nearly five million fans since beginning play at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Md. in 1996. The team has captured South Atlantic League titles in 1997 and 2000 while successfully hosting the South Atlantic League All-Star Game in 1999 and 2011.