Behind a seven-inning gem from LHP John Parke and a five-run sixth inning, the Kannapolis Intimidators eased their way by the Delmarva Shorebirds, 9-0, Thursday night at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland.In the sixth and already up by three runs, Nolan Brown led off the inning with a single, proving
Behind a seven-inning gem from LHP John Parke and a five-run sixth inning, the Kannapolis Intimidators eased their way by the Delmarva Shorebirds, 9-0, Thursday night at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland.
In the sixth and already up by three runs, Nolan Brown led off the inning with a single, proving to be the first of four-straight hits for the Intimidators (40-28). Before Luis Curbelo's double to right field, Brown swiped his fourth bag of the season, scoring on the next pitch for the I's fourth run. Following a Delmarva mound visit, Craig Dedelow singled on a line drive to right field on the first pitch, putting runners at the corners. From the cleanup spot, Tate Blackman singled on a line drive to left field, scoring Curbelo to give Kannapolis a 5-0 lead.
After a pitching change that saw Max Knutson step to the rubber for the Shorebirds, Michael Hickman got hit on a 3-0 pitch to load the bases for Justin Yurchak. With arguably the best eye on the team, Yurchak drew his 33rd walk of the season, followed by a Tyler Frost walk to bring in the sixth and seventh runs for Kannapolis.
Kannapolis proved to be the first team that broke the scoring seal, scoring one run off Jhon Peluffo thanks to a leadoff double from Brown on a 1-0 pitch in the fourth. After the double, Curbelo singled on a ground ball up the middle, scoring Brown for the first run of the ball game.
In the fifth, Yurchak led off the inning with Peluffo still on the mound for Delmarva (35-33), as Frost dug in from the left side of the plate with one out and one on. After falling down in the count, 1-2, Frost drove his team-high 10th homer of the season over the right field wall, giving Parke a quick 3-0 lead.
Parke finished the day with just one strikeout through 7.0 innings, but still managed to retire up to 11 batters in a row on his way to only giving up four hits on 84 pitches. Relievers Kevin Escorcia and William Kincanon both worked 1.0 inning, not allowing a runner to get passed first base through two innings of work.
With the win, the Intimidators snap a five-game losing skid, picking up their 40th win on the season. LHP Parker Rigler will get the start for (3-3, 4.81 ERA) Kannapolis on Friday against LHP Cameron Bishop (6-3, 3.36 ERA).
