SHOREBIRDS GAME NOTES: 5/15 @ Kannapolis

PREVIEW: After a 17-hit explosion on Friday night, the Shorebirds look to earn a series split in the finale against the Intimidators. Right-hander Jesse Beal threw 74 pitches in seven innings of work last night to earn his third win (tied for staff high with Jake Smith, Nick Haughian and Jake Cowan). Beal allowed just six hits. The Hickory Crawdads lost last night to Greensboro, 11-7, to pull the ‘Birds within 3.5 games of first place at the midway point of the first half.

MOST HITS: The 17 hits are the most for the Shorebirds this season. Their previous high was 14, accomplished on April 11th against the Greensboro Grasshoppers (9-3 win). Six players had multi-hit games (Mooney, Kelly, Conley, Stampone, Bumbry and Helmick).

SIX TIMES ON THE BASES: Brian Conley reached base six times in last night’s game. He went 4-for-4 with two walks. The last Shorebirds player to accomplish that was Kyle Hudson on July 13, 2009 against Lexington. Hudson also went 4-for-4 with two walks that night. Conley leads the league again in on-base percentage. His OBP jumped from .429 to .455 after the performance last night.

ONE ERROR ALL SERIES: The ‘Birds have made only one error all series long. Catcher Michael Ohlman made the error in game two. The Shorebirds are tied with the Rome Braves for the league lead in errors with 55.

SEASON HIGH: Steve Bumbry came into last night’s game with five RBIs in 29 games. He had a career high three in the 10-4 win. Bumbry managed 10 RBIs in 45 games last season in Aberdeen. He had two RBIs once, against the Lowell Spinners on August 24th.

7-for-19: The Shorebirds were an impressive 7-for-19 with runners in scoring position in yesterday’s win. Throughout the season, the Shorebirds have struggled in that regard. They are batting only .216 with runners in scoring position.

DOWDY DOMINATES: In 10 appearances this season, closer Josh Dowdy has allowed 10 hits and one earned run (0.71 ERA). He also has a strike out to walk ratio of 17 to 1.

RECENT ERRORLESS STREAKS: Several Shorebirds have been sound defensively of late. First baseman Tyler Stampone has gone without an error in 16 straight games. Shortstop Garabez Rosa has not made an error in 14 straight games. Right fielder Brian Conley has gone 10 games without committing an error.

8 HITS: Tyler Stampone has eight hits in his last five games played (8-25). He has three multi-hit games during the stretch.

1-2 IN ORGANIZATION: Garabez Rosa (.346) and Brian Conley (.339) are now the top two hitters in the Baltimore Orioles farm system. Steve Bumbry (.299) is fourth in the chain.

COWAN-BERRY: Shorebirds starters Jake Cowan (40) and Ryan Berry (39) are the top two strike out guys in the Orioles system.

ROAD RAGE: The Shorebirds are now batting .277 away from Perdue Stadium. Several guys have been off the charts on the road. Brian Conley leads the way with a .403 road batting average. Steve Bumbry is batting .353 on the road. Ty Kelly is hitting .343 on the road. The ‘Birds have plated 105 runs in 18 games on the road (5.83). They have scored 56 runs in 16 games at home (3.5).

LEAD OFF MAN ABOARD: In the four innings that the Shorebirds scored last night, the lead off hitter reached base. Mike Mooney singled in the third, Gary Helmick was hit by a pitch in the fourth, Brian Conley singled in the seventh, Helmick singled in the eighth.

HOMERLESS: The Shorebirds have not connected on a home run in the last twelve games. The last player to hit a long ball was Brian Conley on 4/30 against the Asheville Tourists. The ‘Birds have gone 92 innings without a home run. The Shorebirds are the only team in the SAL without a home run in the month of May. Kannapolis has 12 home runs in May.

BEAL’S A WINNER: Over the last 11 games, Beal is the only starter to earn a win. He has actually earned two wins.

SEVEN STRAIGHT SUB 3:00: The Shorebirds have played seven straight sub 3:00 hour ball games. It’s interesting to note that they played four straight three hour games between 5/3 and 5/6 against Savannah.

28 DAYS, 29 GAMES: Dating back to the series opener, the Shorebirds are in the midst of playing 29 games in 28 days. The Shorebirds will play a doubleheader on May 21st to make up a wash out against Hagerstown. The Shorebirds next off day is not until June 9.