SHOREBIRDS GAME NOTES: 5/17 @ West Virginia

PREVIEW: West Virginia plated five runs in the fourth inning to defeat the Shorebirds 8-4 in game one. The ‘Birds have now offered up five home runs in the last two games. The Shorebirds pitching staff has surrendered 26 home runs, third most in the South Atlantic League. The Shorebirds remain 4.5 games out of first place, as the Kannapolis Intimidators beat the Hickory Crawdads 7-1 last night.

HOME RUN KOLODNY: Tyler Kolodny has connected on three home runs over the last two games. He now leads the Baltimore Orioles farm system with nine home runs. He is also tied with Cody Hinze of the Lexington Legends for the South Atlantic League lead in long balls. It took Kolodny 107 games in 2009 to connect on nine home runs for the Shorebirds. The Woodland Hills, California native has also had a multi-homer game on April 18 against Hagerstown. He now leads the team with 25 RBIs. Kolodny ranks 12th in the SAL.

CONLEY GETS ON BASE: Conley has reached base in 11 of his last six times to the plate. He has seven hits and four walks. He has also scored four runs. Conley leads the South Atlantic League with an on-base percentage of .458.

DALLES AND TOWNSEND: Tonight will mark the 11th game that Justin Dalles has missed since injuring his right ankle in a collision at the plate. Game two will mark the 22nd straight game that Townsend will miss since hurting his hamstring on April 22.