The Hickory Crawdads attempt at a rally fell short last night, as they lost to the Delmarva Shorebirds 10-6. Hickory (14-12, 54-12) got on the board in the bottom of the first inning against Shorebirds starter RHP Kenny Moreland (6-3, 2.97 ERA). With the bases loaded and one out, Vinny DiFazio hit into a 6-to-4 fielder's choice, allowing Adair to score from third. Mike Ortiz followed with an RBI double to bring in 3B Joe Bonadonna. Guillermo Pimentel then laced a single to right-center field to plate DiFazio and hand the 'Dads an early 3-0 lead. The Shorebirds (14-11, 46-49) chipped away though, scoring two runs in the top of the third. With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, 1B Tyler Townsend smacked a two-run double to right field, scoring CF Mikey Planeta and SS Garabez Rosa to cut the Hickory lead to 3-2. Delmarva tied the game in the fourth inning against Crawdads starter RHP Neil Ramirez (7-7, 5.02 ERA) when Planeta drove an RBI double to deep center field, knotting the game at 3-3. After scoring a run in the top of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead, the Shorebirds extended their advantage with a six-run top of the sixth inning. With runners at second and third and two outs, Rosa grounded to third, but the ball skipped away from Bonadonna, allowing Casamayor to score from third and extending the inning. After LF T.J. Baxter walked to load the bases, 3B Ty Kelly hit a two-run single and was followed by Townsend with a three-run homer to right field, pushing the 'Dads deficit to 10-3. All six of the runs scored against RHP Danny Gutierrez in the inning were unearned. In the seventh, Adair smashed a solo shot to cut the 'Dads deficit to 10-4. Trailing 10-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the 'Dads staged a rally. With runners on first and second and two outs, CF Jared Bolden doubled to left field, plating Adair from second. DiFazio, seeing his first action since hitting the DL in May, then drove home Bonadonna on an RBI infield single to SS Garabez Rosa, decreasing the Shorebirds lead to 10-6. After 1B Mike Ortiz walked to load the bases, Pimentel stepped to the plate, representing the tying run, but Delmarva reliever RHP David Walters induced a ground-out to end the ballgame by the final score of 10-6. Ramirez surrendered four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings of work to take the loss. Moreland won it for Delmarva, allowing three runs on nine hits and a walk while fanning four in six inning, while Walters picked up the save for the Shorebirds. 2B Travis Adair and LF Guillermo Pimentel each went 4-for-5 at the plate with an RBI, with Adair hitting his first home run of the season for the Crawdads.