Salem & Delmarva Battle To The Very End (6-15-23)

By: Joey Raymond

Photo Credit: Joey Raymond-LMS Network

​Pregame Notes: 

SALEM, VA–Going into this game, it’s pretty easy to assume we’re going to get a competitive matchup. Delmarva and Salem share nearly identical records and both roughly nine games back in the standings along with the Lynchburg Hillcats. Tonight’s starting pitching matchup features a pair of live arms as Bradley Blalock takes the mound for the Sox and Deivy Cruz laces up for Delmarva. 

​Game Recap: 

Starting out we see some action happen for the Red Sox in the bottom of the first. This comes after a strong first inning from the arm of Blalock. The Red Sox get going after Cutter Cofey works a quick four pitch walk. Allen Castro does the same, working a walk on four pitches as well. A passed ball moves the runners over to second and third. Luis Ravelo then gets the scoring going by hammering a single, knocking in both runners. The inning ended shortly after. ​

Delmarva responded in the top of the second by getting a run themselves. Randy Florentino hits a ground ball and legs out a single. The next batter up was Adam Crampton. Crampton hits a rocket into left center field and hits the ground running. After a really close play, he finds himself safely at third base. On the play Florentino scores, bringing the score to 2 to 1. 

Several innings go by without inning scoring thanks to an electric pitching matchup on both sides. Both Blalock and Cruz pitched 5 really strong innings. After the sixth inning both pitchers get relieved and the Red Sox find themselves on the scoreboard again, in the bottom of the sixth. The Red Sox leadoff man in the sixth is Cutter Coffey. Cutter drills a single into right field and gets the offense started. Allen Castro follows him with a walk. Luis Ravelo singles shortly after, bringing in Coffey and Castro. On the throw home to try and throw out Castro, Ravelo moved over to second base. The Red Sox lead at this point in the game, with a score of 4 to 1. 

The Delmarva Shorebirds wouldn’t back down in this game though. Delmarva fires up the bats and truly starts off this inning with two really strong at bats. Both Randy Florentino and Adam Crampton work walks after the count goes full. This brings Luis Gonzalez up to the plate with two runners on. He hits a ball that finds the ground in left field and ultimately loads the bases up for Delmarva. After a strikeout for the first out of the inning, the batter is Carter Young. Young takes full advantage of the situation and smacks a double into center. This scores two runs, bringing the Red Sox lead down to 4 to 3. Luis Gonzalez eventually would get thrown out by Cutter Coffey at home, giving Delmarva two outs with a runner on. The Red Sox then throw a wild pitch, bringing in the runner and tying the game at 4 runs a piece. The inning would end, and the noise in the ballpark was silent. 

The silence wouldn’t last long though as the Red Sox would give their fans something to cheer about in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jhostynxon Garcia reached on a throwing error, after the Red Sox quickly gathered two outs. The two outs would prove to not matter though as Luis Ravelo snagged a ground ball single, moving Garcia to third. Enderso Lira would come up to bat next and took full advantage of the pivotal moment. He drills a ball so hard I’m sure you could hear the bat smack from miles away as it heads into right field. Both runners scored, bringing the Red Sox back into the lead, with a score of 6 to 4. Lyonell James wouldn’t let the fun stop there though as he muscles a ground ball into right field, bringing Lira home and giving the Red Sox a 7 to 4 lead. This is the last run scored for the Sox this inning however and you could tell that momentum is definitely on the Red Sox side of things. 

Delmarva would not go quietly into the night. Top of the ninth rolled around and the Shorebirds bats had something up their sleeves. Right away Adam Crampton, singled off of a line drive into right field. This was followed up by Elio Prado who lined a double, moving Crampton over to third. Trendon Craig then worked a count full. Then after a pitch that was outside, and ultimately called ball four, you see the second base umpire signal a “balk”. This would mean the play is dead and they would need to rethrow the last pitch. This matters because on the play Adam Crampton walked home, therefore stealing the base. If it’s a balk then the play is dead and Crampton can’t score. After a long, very lengthy discussion, it’s ultimately ruled a walk and therefore the runner scored. This brings us to our final score of 7 to 5, as the Shorebirds would promptly get their third out shortly after. 

​What’s Next? 

The Red Sox and Shorebirds continue the series at Salem Memorial Ballpark all week. The current standings sit with Salem ahead of Delmarva by a half game and they’ll try to change that as the series moves along. The next game is on June 16th 2023 at 7pm.