Delmarva Shorebirds

SALISBURY, Md. - Joe Napoli went 2-for-5 with a home run and a double and Marcos Cabral and Patrick Nichols each had two RBIs as the Hagerstown Suns beat the Delmarva Shorebirds 9-4 Thursday night. Hagerstown starter Jeff Mandel (1-2) went five innings for the win, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out six. Cabral led off the game with a single and eventually scored on a single by Marvin Lowrance as the Suns captured the lead for good at 1-0. They made it 4-0 in the second on Napoli's solo shot and Cabral's two-run single.

SALISBURY, Md. - Miguel Abreu hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie Saturday and lead the Delmarva Shorebirds to a 4-3 win over the Hagerstown Suns. The Suns battled back to tie the game in the seventh inning on Francisco Guzman's leadoff home run off of Delmarva reliever Bruce Galloway. The Suns took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI double by Mike Daniel. The Shorebirds took the lead with three runs in the third off Hagerstown starter Jhonny Nunez, keyed by David Cash's two-run single.

Justin Maxwell went 3-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs as the Hagerstown Suns trounced the Delmarva Shorebirds 14-1 in a rain-shortened, five-inning game at Municipal Stadium on Saturday night. Yunior Novoa (2-4) pitched all five innings for the Suns, allowing a run, five hits and a walk while striking out three. After the Shorebirds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Brandon Snyder's solo homer, the Suns answered with five runs in the bottom half. Hagerstown added four runs in the third and five more in the fourth, as all but one Suns starter had at least one hit. Erick San Pedro went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple and four RBIs for the Suns.

SALISBURY, Md. - The Hagerstown Suns split a doubleheader with the Delmarva Shorebirds on Sunday, dropping the first game 3-1 before rebounding to take the second, 3-2. In the opener, Delmarva (11-18) used great pitching from Brad Bergesen (2-2) as he went the distance for a three-hitter. The Suns got a run in the first on an RBI groundout by Stephen King, but Chris Vinyard's two-run double in the third gave the Shorebirds the lead. The Suns (11-19) got even in the second game, as Yunior Novoa (1-4)

Jhonatan Solano hit a three-run, walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday night as the Hagerstown Suns beat the Delmarva Shorebirds, 8-7. With the Suns trailing 7-5, Brent McMillan led off the bottom of the ninth with a double against Delmarva closer Luis Lebron (0-1), who then walked Justin Maxwell. After Joe Napoli struck out, Solano hit the game-winning shot to right-center field. Solano finished with four RBIs for the Suns (8-14), who won back-to-back games for the first time this season, while securing their first series win. Mike Daniel, McMillan, Maxwell, Napoli, Solano and Michael Martinez each had two of Hagerstown's 13 hits.

The Hagerstown Suns ended their 2006 season on Labor Day at Municipal Stadium by completing a four-game sweep of the Delmarva Shorebirds with a 4-1 victory. The Suns finished 7-1 in their final homestand. The Lakewood Blueclaws won the second-half title in the Northern Division to join the Lexington Legends in the playoffs which begin today. In the Southern Division, the Rome Braves will face the Augusta GreenJackets. The Suns went 28-42 in the first half and 30-40 in the second half to finish 58-82 - the second worst record in Suns history.

HAGERSTOWN - Of all the things he has done right in life, "My Name Is Earl" creator Greg Garcia puts attending college in Western Maryland high on his list. That was the message Wednesday when the Hagerstown Suns and Frostburg State University officials unveiled a bobblehead doll likeness of Earl, the hapless longtime loser created by Garcia for NBC. The first 1,000 fans at the Suns' Sept. 3 game against the Delmarva Shorebirds will take home dolls of the flannel-clad, one-eyebrow-raised Earl, officials said.

Jose Castro painfully learned a lesson on Friday: Running bases is a lot like having confidence. Both are performed most effectively when you have your head up. Castro collected a clutch, one-out RBI single in the eighth inning to bring the Hagerstown Suns within one run of the Delmarva Shorebirds. But in a moment of youthful exuberance, he was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. It was the end of the story of another comeback try, as the Suns fell 3-2 to Delmarva, lighting the fuse for 3,131 fireworks fans at Municipal Stadium.

SALISBURY, Md. - The Hagerstown Suns scored twice in the top of the 11th inning, then held on in the bottom half to defeat the Delmarva Shorebirds for the second straight day, earning a 4-3 victory Sunday. Elvis Cruz' RBI double gave the Suns (25-38) a 3-2 lead and Drew Butera's RBI double drove in Cruz and made it 4-2. Lorenzo Scott's RBI triple in the bottom half cut the lead to 4-3. Suns reliever Kevin Tomasiewicz (5-1) left Scott stranded at third to earn the win. Hector Pellot had three hits and Nick Evans, Cruz and Luis Rivera each had two hits for the Suns.