Delmarva 9, Savannah 2

The host Delmarva Shorebirds pounded out 19 hits and posted a pair of four-run innings to rout the Savannah Sand Gnats 9-2 on Tuesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

Delmarva (41-58) surged to a 5-2 lead with four runs in the third inning. Joel Hutter and Creede Simpson opened with doubles, and Wynston Sawyer followed with a one-out RBI single. Roderick Bernadina then singled, and Gregory Lorenzo drove in Sawyer with a single. Bernadina scored from third on Sand Gnats starting pitcher Luis Cessa’s (5-3) wild pitch.

The Shorebirds roughed up Savannah reliever Hunter Carnevale in the eighth to push the advantage to 9-2. Carnevale yielded two walks, got a double-play grounder, then gave up Sawyer’s two-run homer, two singles and Lorenzo’s two-run triple.

The Sand Gnats (56-41) had taken a 2-0 lead in the opening inning. Jorge Rivero led off with a single, and Brandon Nimmo singled on a ground ball to pitcher Luc Rennie (1-2). Maikis De La Cruz reached on a forceout that erased Nimmo, but then stole second, which proved important.

After Stefan Sabol struck out for the second out, Eudy Pina delivered a double to center to score both Rivero and De La Cruz.

The Shorebirds responded in the second inning with their first run in a similar scoring scenario. With one out, Bernadina singled and Adrian Marin followed with a single grounded to pitcher Cessa. After a strikeout, Lucas Herbst delivered an RBI single to score Bernadina. Cessa left Marin stranded at third as Anthony Caronia grounded out.

Center fielder Nimmo (2 for 3) struck out swinging and was ejected by home-plate umpire Scott Costello in the fifth inning. Nimmo was replaced in the batting order by Greg Pron (1 for 1), who played right field and Pina moved to center.

Key Stats

Brandon Nimmo: 2-for-3

Maikis De La Cruz: 1-for-4, 2 SB

Eudy Pina: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Luis Cessa: 5.0 IP, 13 H, 1 BB, 5 ER, 4 K

Julian Hilario: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER

Hunter Carnevale: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 1 HR,  2 BB, 4 ER

(Team Report)