Shorebirds

Ryan Minor went 5-for-5 with a double and hit his eighth homer of the season last night, leading the visiting Delmarva Shorebirds past the Asheville Tourists, 13-9, in a Single-A South Atlantic League game.Minor's five hits set a franchise record. Calvin Pickeering hit his sixth homer of the season and Tim DeCinces hit his seventh for Delmarva (25-22).Rock Cats 3, Baysox 2: Ryan Lane scored from third base in the 11th inning on an errant throw from the catcher back to the pitcher as New Britain beat Bowie in a Double-A Eastern League game.

SALISBURY -- Only at a ballpark named for the first family of chicken could you have a left-field fowl pole. Or a stadium staff called "the flock." At Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, just a quick turn off U.S. 50 on the way to or from the beach, chicken made Single-A baseball possible, but fans make it special.

Cape Fear Crocs pitcher Guillermo Mota threw seven shutout innings and struck out six to deal the visiting Delmarva Shorebirds their third consecutive loss, 5-0, in a Single-A South Atlantic League game last night.Tim DeCinces doubled for the Shorebirds (17-18) to extend his hit streak to nine games.Baysox 10, Sea Dogs 6: Chris Kirgan and David Dellucci hit home runs to help Bowie defeat host Portland in a Double-A Eastern League game.Indians 9, Keys 3: Kinston banged out 13 hits and defeated visiting Frederick in a Single-A Carolina League game.

Tim DeCinces, Calvin Pickering and Ryan Minor each had run-scoring doubles as the Delmarva Shorebirds edged the Hagerstown Suns, 7-6, yesterday in a Single-A South Atlantic League game in Salisbury.Shorebirds starter Brian Falkenborg (4-4) had allowed just one run over seven innings before being relieved by Josh Towers with one out and the bases loaded in the eighth.But three more runs were added to Falkenborg's line when Hagerstown's Luis Lopez, the league's top hitter at .388, then hit a grand slam off Towers to pull the Suns within 7-6.But Towers went on to record his first save of the season by getting the final five outs of the game.

The Delmarva Shorebirds maintained a share of first place in the Single-A South Atlantic League with their biggest offensive performance of the season yesterday, routing the visiting Hagerstown Suns, 14-3.Maleke Fowler led the Shorebirds with a 3-for-5 effort, four RBIs, a double and stolen base. Carlos Casimiro added a two-run homer and scored four runs.Americo Peguero (4-5) cruised eight innings in his longest outing of the year, allowing seven hits and three runs.Baysox-Navigators: The Double-A Eastern League game between visiting Bowie and Norwich has been postponed due to rain.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Karl Chatman's run-scoring single in the bottom of the first inning gave Cape Fear the lead for good, as the Delmarva Shorebirds lost their third straight game, 3-1, last night in Single-A South Atlantic League play.The Shorebirds (12-13) took a 1-0 lead in top of the first on a double by Calvin Pickering, but the Crocs (11-4) answered with two in their half of the inning.Jason Turman pitched five innings for the win.Delmarva's Americo Peguero (8-8) took the loss.Pub Date: 7/16/97

Luis Matos' two-run single in the second inning broke a tie and powered the visiting Delmarva Shorebirds past the Hagerstown Suns, 4-3, in a Single-A South Atlantic League game last night, their sixth straight victory.Abraham Hacen (3-2) went seven innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs and striking out four for the win.The Shorebirds (19-18) are 5-0 at Hagerstown this year.Sea Dogs 11, Baysox 10: Mark Kotsay's leadoff homer in the sixth inning lifted Portland over visiting Bowie in a Double-A Eastern League game.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Chad Paronto and Maximo Heredia combined on a one-hitter as the Delmarva Shorebirds beat the Charleston RiverDogs, 7-0, last night in the opening game of a four-game, Single-A South Atlantic League series.Paronto pitched the first four innings but left the game because of a blister on his right hand. Heredia thew five perfect innings of relief for his eighth win.Calvin Pickering had three hits for the Shorebirds, including two home runs, raising his season total to 19. Pickering had a bases-empty homer in the fourth and a three-run shot in the ninth.

The Charleston Alley Cats scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to come from behind and beat the Delmarva Shorebirds, 9-3, in a Single-A South Atlantic League game in West Virginia last night.Trailing 3-2, the Alley Cats sent 11 batters to the plate in the eighth. Dave Guthrie had two singles in the inning, including a bases-loaded hit that scored three runs.Delmarva starter Brian Falkenborg allowed two runs and four hits through seven innings but failed to retire the first two batters in the eighth and took the loss.

There was a preseason question about the Delmarva Shorebirds, who had a tough act to follow.Could they match their first year, when, as a Montreal Expos affiliate, they went all the way to the South Atlantic League championship series?The question was answered resoundingly. Now aligned with the Orioles, Delmarva went all the way, period. Kingpins of the league."It was kind of unbelievable that so many good things could happen in one season," said general manager Keith Lupton. "We're looking forward to next year, but this is something that will be hard for us to duplicate."