Holliday, Shorebirds' offense shows-out in '23 season opener

Shorebirds Open 2023 with Win Over Salem

Offense Impresses in Season Opener

Salem, VA: The offense for the Delmarva Shorebirds (1-0) broke out on Thursday night against the Salem Red Sox (0-1), leading the way to an 11-7 win on opening night.

The bats got it going right away for Delmarva as they put four runs on the board in the opening frame starting with Samuel Basallo who put the Shorebirds ahead with an RBI single to score Jackson Holliday to make it 1-0. With runners at second and third, Trendon Craig brought both runners in with a double off the wall in left-center to up the lead to 3-0. Craig would eventually find his way home on a wild pitch to make it a 4-0 game after an inning of play.

In the third, Samuel Basallo came through again with a loud homer to straight-away center with a distance of 454 feet to extend the Shorebird's lead to 5-0 after the solo shot.

The Red Sox wouldn't go down easily as they rallied for three runs in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Miguel Bleis followed by two bases-loaded walks to trim the Delmarva advantage to 5-3.

The offense would get one of those runs back as Basallo stayed hot with his third hit of the game that scored Elio Prado to push the lead back to three.

Salem continued the back-and-forth affair in the bottom of the fourth as Allan Castro doubled home Ahbram Liendo to make it 6-4.

With the bases loaded and nobody out in the fifth, Douglas Hodo III manufactured another run with a sacrifice fly to bring home Trendon Craig, upping the lead back to three at 7-4, but that was the only run Delmarva scored in the inning.

The three-run cushion for the Shorebirds would be trimmed to one in the bottom of the sixth as the Red Sox used RBIs from Miguel Bleis and Allan Castro to pull within a run at 7-6.

But Delmarva had another answer as Creed Willems picked up an RBI single to plate home Anthony Servideo. Trendon Craig would also score moments later on a wild pitch as the Shorebirds bumped the lead back to three with a 9-6 edge.

The Red Sox used a successful first and third steal attempt to sneak home Juan Chacon in the seventh to make it a two-run game at 9-7.

Salem produced their best chance to tie or take the lead in the bottom of the eighth as they loaded the bases with one out, but Reese Sharp worked his way in and out of trouble as he delivered a clutch strikeout of Luis Ravello, followed by a groundout to short to get through the inning unscathed.

In the ninth, the Shorebirds put the game away for good thanks to Elio Prado who drilled a two-run homer over the left field wall for his third hit of the night to give Delmarva an 11-7 advantage.

Reese Sharp took care of business by putting up another zero in the bottom of the ninth to close out an opening night win for the Shorebirds.

Edgar Portes (1-0) was awarded the win for Delmarva with Reese Sharp (1) picking up the six-out save. Salem starting pitcher Luis Perales (0-1) was saddled with the loss.

Omar Basallo led the way offensively with three hits and three RBIs including his long home run in the third inning. Elio Prado put together a three-hit game that featured his two-run bomb in the ninth. Trendon Craig had a big hand in the offense as well as he drove in a pair with his two-run double in the first while also scoring a team-high three times and stealing a base. Creed Willems reached base a team-high four times with two hits and two walks as the Shorebirds totaled 11 knocks as a team and also drew a combined 7 walks.

Delmarva will look to make it two in a row on Friday night as they send Alfred Vega to the mound to face left-hander Noah Dean who will make his professional debut. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

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Opening Night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium is set for Tuesday, April 11 against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers at 7:05 PM. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at theshorebirds.com/tickets.

Full season, half season, 22-Game, and 12-Game ticket plans can be purchased online as well at theshorebirds.com. For more information on Shorebirds group opportunities for the 2022 season, please visit theshorebirds.com, email [email protected], or call the front office at 410-219-3112.