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Kannapolis drops double header to Delmarva Thursday night

June 14, 2018

Game 1After totaling just three hits in the first game of the double header, the Kannapolis Intimidators (39-24) fell 6-1 to the Delmarva Shorebirds (33-30) Thursday night at Intimidators Stadium supported by Atrium Health.Blake Battenfield (L, 5-3) got his 13th start of the season for the Intimidators and it turned

Game 1
After totaling just three hits in the first game of the double header, the Kannapolis Intimidators (39-24) fell 6-1 to the Delmarva Shorebirds (33-30) Thursday night at Intimidators Stadium supported by Atrium Health.
Blake Battenfield (L, 5-3) got his 13th start of the season for the Intimidators and it turned out to be one he'd like to forget.
After a smooth three-up three-down inning in the first, Delmarva's Ben Breazeale hit a ground ball up the middle that scored Seamus Curran with two outs in the second after Tate Blackman 's glove flip to Laz Rivera just barely pulled him off the second base bag.
The third inning didn't get much better as the Shorebirds hit three straight doubles to begin the inning that finished with Delmarva tallying five hits and scoring three runs.
Cameron Bishop (W, 6-3) got the start for Delmarva and showed out in the first game of the double header.
Besides a double from Rivera in the bottom of the first inning, the next hit for the Intimidators didn't come until the bottom of the third when Tyler Frost led off the bottom of the inning with an inside the park home run that Zach Jarrett dove for in centerfield and missed.
Later that inning, a walk and hit by pitch left Luis Robert and Laz Rivera on first and second with one out, but nothing came of it.
There weren't any runs, and very few hits for either team in the next three innings, but in the top of the seventh, the last inning given today's double header, the visitors continued to extend their lead to 6-1.
The inning started off with Jarrett being hit by a pitch followed with a double from Seamus Curran that gave Trevor Craport the opportunity to drive in Jarrett with a sacrifice fly to Robert in center. Next up, Ryan Ripken, son of Cal Ripken, doubled on the next pitch to drive in Curran.
While there was a sliver of hope when Villa, who singled in the fourth, led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch, it wasn't meant to be. Justin Yurchak lined out to the Shorebirds shortstop, Mason McCoy, allowing Villa to be doubled up at the first. The game ended with Luis Curbelo being called out on a check swing, giving Bishop a complete game, three-hit, 6-1 victory.
Game 2
The second half of the doubleheader went just as poorly as the first half, as the Kannapolis Intimidators (39-25) fell to the Delmarva Shorebirds (34-30) for the second time on Thursday.
John Parke (L, 6-4) started the second half of the double header for the Intimidators, and got off to a rough start, at that.
Just three batters into the top of the first, Delmarva found themselves with bases loaded and no outs thanks to a walk, error by Curbelo, and a hit by pitch. After an additional hit by Chris Shaw, the Shorebirds finished off the half inning with two runs, and all things considered for Parke, he minimized the damage well.
Both teams added runs in the second inning when Delmarva put together a two-out rally that ended with Jarrett driving in Mason McCoy on a liner to right field, and the Intimidators got a two out RBI up the middle from Evan Skoug to cut Delmarva's lead to 3-1.
It seemed that Parke started to settle in when he threw a 1-2-3 third inning, but tonight was not his night. The third inning rolled around, and the wheels fell off.
A top of the fourth that consisted of singles by Will Robertson and Jarrett, double by Curran, and a homerun from Craport, the first out of the park home run of the doubleheader, gave the Shorebirds an 8-1 lead.
Villa continued his strong day at the plate by adding another hit in the bottom of the fourth, but again, the rally fell short and Kannapolis left two on base.
In the fifth Luis Ledo replaced Parke and pitched two solid innings while holding Delmarva at eight runs, giving up only two hits.
Matthias Dietz caused somewhat of stir amongst fans in the bottom of the fifth after hitting Blackman and Villa back-to-back, the latter of which scored Frost with the bases loaded. With the bases still loaded, Yurchak flied out to centerfield, leaving three more men on base.
Jose Nin entered for Kannapolis in the seventh and pitched a scoreless final inning.
For Delmarva, Dietz, who pitched five solid innings, walked away with his sixth win of the season, with Nick Vespi finishing out the last two innings, although Craig Dedelow scored on a Branden Becker error, while Villa scored on a Yurchak single to cut the Intimidators deficit to four runs.
In the end, the Kannapolis Intimidators fell 8-4 to the Delmarva Shorebirds, getting swept on Tuesday's doubleheader.