Shorebirds

SALISBURY, Md. - Delmarva scored four runs in the eighth inning - highlighted by Michael Ohlman's go-ahead two-run single - on Wednesday for a 6-4 win over the Hagerstown Suns. The Suns (62-52, 22-22 second half) held a 4-1 lead after 5 1/2 innings, thanks to Jason Martinson's base-clearing triple. Michael Mooney and Michael Rooney led off with singles before Jeremy Nowak's RBI double chased Suns reliever Greg Holt (0-1). Sam Brown came on to allow Olhman's hit and Joe Oliveria's sacrifice fly to give Delmarva a two-run lead.

For baseball players, an assignment to Hagerstown isn’t usually greeted favorably. The Suns are a low Single-A team, so playing for the Suns is either a first stepping stone or a huge demotion if you are a major leaguer. But for Chad Gaudin, getting the chance to pitch for the Suns on Sunday was a huge treat. The Washington Nationals relief pitcher allowed two hits in a two-inning stint on Sunday during the Suns' 11-4 victory over Delmarva on Sunday. It was Gaudin's first live game action since being placed on the disabled list on April 26 with right shoulder inflammation.

Hagerstown manager Brian Daubach had the perfect word to sum up the Suns’ Sunday at Municipal Stadium. “Perfect.” It may not have been perfect, but it was the closest thing to it. The Suns shucked the remnants of a hitting funk that ended any chance of winning a division title by unloading 19 hits in a 11-4 rout of Delmarva in the first-half finale. The stars were many for Hagerstown, which won its final two games after enduring a six-game losing streak that knocked them out of contention for the South Atlantic League Northern Division title.

With one swing of the bat and one raise of his arm, Randolph Oduber got it all. Oduber connected on a walk-off single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to lift the Hagerstown Suns to a much-needed 2-1 victory over Delmarva on Friday before 2,832 fans at Municipal Stadium. The outfielder drove a liner through the hole at short to score Blake Kelso from third. He instantly threw his arm in the air. It was a celebration. It was redemption. And it was a sigh of relief for Oduber and the Suns in one swift instance.

Adrian Sanchez drove in a key insurance run in the ninth inning on Friday and the Hagerstown Suns hung on for a 6-5 victory over Delmarva to extend their South Atlantic League Northern Division lead. Blake Kelso and Sanchez each singled in a run to give the Suns (37-24) a much-needed three-run cushion heading into the bottom of the inning. Delmarva scored two runs off closer Ben Graham, who got Shorebirds shortstop Manny Macado to ground out to end the game with the tying run at first base.

Randolph Oduber and Jason Martinson each homered to support Sammy Solis’ five-hit effort on Thursday as the Hagerstown Suns took a 4-1 victory over Delmarva. Martinson had two hits and scored twice as Solis (1-0) controlled the Shorebirds for 6 2/3 innings to get his first victory of the season. The win allowed the Suns (36-24) to extend their South Atlantic League Northern Division lead to 1 1/2 games over Greensboro. The Grasshoppers dropped an 8-3 decision to Kannapolis.

This time, the Hagerstown Suns were possessed instead of being possessive. The Suns have made a habit of casting a spell on opponents in tight situations. On Thursday, they were the ones put in a trance. “When you don’t take advantage of opportunities, sometimes they come back to haunt,” surmised Suns manager Brian Daubach. Hagerstown suffered through a Shorebirds spell as the offense went cold after the third inning and the pitching became erratic shortly after in a 6-3 loss before a quenched Thirsty Thursday crowd of 2,611 at Muncipal Stadium.

Even though Bryce Harper is only 18, he is old enough to drive. Delmarva found out on Wednesday it’s tough to keep the keys away from him. Harper sat firmly in the driver’s seat, collecting four hits and five RBIs — including a game-changing grand slam in the third inning — to lift the Hagerstown Suns to an 11-5 victory over the Shorebirds before 872 fans at Municipal Stadium. “If you can get two hits early, things start to go really well,” Harper said. “It all depends on the field.

It’s how the Hagerstown Suns’ starter feels when he takes the mound. No matter what he does, he knows his teammates have his back. The Suns put together an “all for one, one for all” effort as Hagerstown’s defense did its part to compliment Hansen’s approach to lift the Suns to a 7-3 victory that put them back in first place in the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division before an Education Day crowd of 2,208 at a Municipal Stadium...

Hagerstown Suns starter Mitchell Clegg shut down the Delmarva Shorebirds for four innings Thursday night at Municipal Stadium. In the fifth inning, everything changed. After seeing just one of their first 13 batters reach base, the Shorebirds got their first four hitters on in the top of the fifth, spraking a seven-run frame that led Delmarva to an 11-6 win over Hagerstown in front of 3,286 fans. Clegg (9-3) cruised through the first four innings, allowing only a two-out double by Tyler Kelly in the first inning.