Shorebirds open 2nd half with win over Lakewood LAKEWOOD, NJ (wesm) - The Delmarva Shorebirds opened the second half of the season with a 4-2 triumph over the first half Northern division champions Lakewood. Four Shorebirds pitchers combined to keep the BlueClaws in check all night.

The Shorebirds jumped out in front in the second inning. Tyler Kolodny blasted a one out triple to the wall in straight away center. He scored on a L.J. Hoes bounce out to first to make it 1-0 Shorebirds.

In the third, Greg Miclat hit a one out double to left-center field to ignite the Shorebirds. Xavier Avery followed with a walk. Two batters later, Elvin Polanco lined a single into right field that scored Greg Miclat. On the play, the right fielder Vladimir De Los Santos bobbled the liner, which allowed Avery to score as well to stretch the lead to 3-0.

The BlueClaws fought back in the fourth. Travis d'Arnuad hit a lead off single. Jim Murphy and Jeremy Hamilton each drew walks to load the bases. Travis Mattair then connected on a sacrifice fly to right field to score d'Arnuad. The BlueClaws plated another run in the frame on a high throw by Luis Bernardo to first in an attempt to turn a double play.

In front 3-2, the Shorebirds tacked on an insurance run in the sixth. Joe Mahoney hit an infield single up the middle. He then swiped his 19th base of the season. L.J. Hoes followed with a lined double over the head of Zach Collier to score Mahoney.

The Shorebirds pitching staff was tremendous. Chris Salberg made his debut for the 'Birds in 2009. In 3.1 innings, he allowed five hits and an earned run. T.R. Keating entered in relief and allowed just a single hit over the next 2.2 innings to earn his third win of the season. Raul Rivero then gave up just one hit in the seventh and eighth innings. Brandon Cooney entered in the ninth to earn his 12th save of the season.

The Shorebirds are back in action on Friday at 7:05 PM.

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Information from: TheShorebirds.com

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