Shorebirds

Robbie Jacobsen's three-run double down the left-field line highlighted Hagerstown's seven-run fifth inning, and the Suns defeated Delmarva 11-5 on Tuesday to rejoin the Shorebirds in the logjam atop the South Atlantic League Northern Division standings. The Suns (4-2) entered the second game of a three-game series with the Shorebirds (4-2) hitting .195 as a team. But they pushed 11 runs across the plate with the help of three Delmarva errors, five walks and a hit batter. "Our pitching staff has done a great job keeping us in games this year, and our defense has been good," said Suns manager Matt LeCroy, whose pitching staff posted a 1.86 ERA through five games.

It's starting to look like Jose Sanchez is Spanish for "automatic. " The Suns' starter remained undefeated with his ninth win in 10 tries while Carlos Gomez and Jesus Flores homered and Tyler Davidson drove in four runs Saturday to lift Hagerstown to a 9-5 victory over Delmarva. Sanchez handcuffed the Shorebirds to two runs - on solo home runs by Arturo Rivas and Pete Maestrales - on four hits while striking ou four over six innings to increase his South Atlantic League lead for victories.

bobp@herald-mail.com It couldn't have been better for the Hagerstown Suns on Thursday. Nate Schierholtz was in the spot he wanted and manager Mike Ramsey had the guy he wanted in the clutch position. What else could the Suns need ... besides a couple of breaks? Schierholtz bounced a hot shot off Delmarva first baseman Mike Russell's glove with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning, producing two runs and a come-from-behind 7-6 victory for Hagerstown before 2,532 fans at Municipal Stadium.

So much for the Municipal Stadium mojo. The Hagerstown Suns were undefeated through seven games to start the 75th anniversary season at the old ball yard. On Saturday, Delmarva blew out the Suns' candle. The Shorebirds took advantage of five Suns'errors in the final three innings to score 10 runs (five unearned) to take a 12-6 victory in the opening game of a doubleheader. The nightcap was in progress at press time. With the loss, the Suns fell into a first-place tie with Delmarva in the South Atlantic League's North Division, sharing an 11-4 record.

The final game of the three-game series between Hagerstown and Delmarva ended in a 2-2 tie Thursday night at Municipal Stadium. It was stopped after the eighth inning due to inclement weather. The outcome of the game will not be reflected in the standings, but the statistics are official. The Suns tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Michael Martinez, who went 3-for-3, singled, stole second and scored on a single by Joe Napoli. Hagerstown tied it at 2-2 in the eighth on an RBI single by John Poppert.

Shorebirds edge Suns 5-4 in 10 innings Thomas Wolfe wrote you can never go home. Jon Kessick penned the sequel on Friday. Delmarva's catcher stood his ground, tagging out three potential Hagerstown Suns runs at the plate - including the winning run in the ninth and the tying run in the 10th - and drove in the Shorebirds' final two runs in a 5-4 extra-inning victory. The Shorebirds squandered the lead but came back with Matt Riordan's RBI single in the 10th off Wes Faust to pull out the win and end a three-game losing streak despite some encouraging signs from a Suns offense which has struggled all season.

SALISBURY, Md. - The Delmarva Shorebirds took a 3-0 lead through four innings, then added an insurance run in the sixth and turned away the Hagerstown Suns for the second straight night, 4-2 on Wednesday. Miguel Abreu tripled and scored on Victor Castillo's single for a 1-0 Delmarva lead in the second inning. Castillo's RBI double and Paul Winterling's RBI single in the fourth pushed the Shorebirds' lead to 3-0. The Suns cut the lead to 3-2 on Trevor Lawhorn's two-run double in the sixth.

If anybody wondered, the Hagerstown Suns are serious about their craft. They, like former NFL coach Herm Edwards, believe you play ... to win ... the game. And the Suns proved it Sunday, even though they only won once. Erick Fernandez blooped an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Suns to a come-from-behind, walk-off 4-3 win over Delmarva in extra innings in the nightcap to earn a split in a Sunday doubleheader at Municipal Stadium. Fernandez landed the knockout punch the Suns missed earlier, as the Shorebirds thwarted Hagerstown's comeback attempt in the opener, using three three-run homers to take a 12-7 victory.

Wander Ramos drove in two runs to lead the Hagerstown Suns to a 5-3 win over Delmarva on Saturday in the opening game of a doubleheader. The Shorebirds came back for a 7-3 win in the nightcap, shutting out the Suns until the seventh inniing. The Suns jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Delmarva starter Mark Blackmar (0-1). Tony Renda led off with a single and took second on Blackmar's balk before scoring on Mike McQuillian's single to left. McQuillian advanced on a grounder and a passed ball before scoring on Ramos' ground out. Delmarva got a run back in the bottom of the second on Anthony Vega's RBI single off Suns' starter Brett Mooneyham to cut the deficit to 2-1. Hagerstown added two runs in the fourth on a run-scoring single by J.R. Higley and when Stephen Perez reached on a fielding error to make it 4-1. The Shorebirds closed again, scoring twice in the sixth on a two-run home run by Roderick Bernadina off reliever Blake Schwartz to close within 4-3. The Suns picked up an insurance run in the seventh when Renda led off with a double and eventually scored when Ramos reached on shortstop Adrian Marin's error.

SALISBURY, Md. - The Hagerstown Suns must mend the errors of their ways. If they don't, going home is the only way left to go. The Suns started two innings with errors, opening the door for 10 Delmarva runs, as the Shorebirds turned the first game of the South Atlantic League's North Division playoff series into a laugher with a 13-3 victory. Six of Delmarva's 13 runs were unearned as Hagerstown committed four errors. The Suns' sore thumb stuck out again since Hagerstown allowed nearly one unearned run per game in the regular season.