Delmarva Shorebirds @ Greenville Drive – 4/10/2010

LF T.J. Baxter went 3-3 and 1B Tyler Kolodny went 3-3 with a HR as the Shorebirds beat the Drive (Red Sox affiliate) 6-4 in Greenville last night. Baxter got on base for all four plate appearances and Kolodny fell just a double short of the cycle during starting pitcher Matt Hobgood's A-ball debut.

The Orioles' top draft pick in 2009, Hobgood looked dominant at times but struggled with his control at others, at one point walking three straight batters. Hobgood walked five but struck out four and only gave up three hits, two solid hits to the outfield (a single and a double) and a weakly hit infield single.

Baxter and Kolodny were the offensive stars of the evening. Kolodny scored three runs and stole a base while Baxter scored two and stole two bases of his own. C Justin Dalles added a solo home run in the 7th, a moonshot that cleared the 30 ft centerfield wall, 410 feet away from home plate with plenty of room to spare.

The Shorebirds' hitters had little problem with Drive starter Manuel Rivera as the lefty gave up 4 earned runs to take the loss.

Nick Haughian, Randy Henry and Josh Dowdy combined for 5 innings of relief. Haughian earned the win with 2 shutout innings and Dowdy picked up his second save of the season.


More observations to follow...