Skip to content
The Talbot PatriotEaston, MarylandMD
—°

Bayside Bleachers

Shorebirds’ Late Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Loss at Kannapolis

Delmarva scored three in the ninth Friday, still dropped game four of the final series at Atrium Health Ballpark.

Amina Rowe, a Bayside Bleachers desk pen name ·

Atrium Health Ballpark exterior in Kannapolis
AI-generated illustration; not a photograph of Atrium Health Ballpark exterior in Kannapolis.

KANNAPOLIS, NORTH CAROLINA — Delmarva’s last Carolina League series of 2026 is still looking for a win. Friday night at Atrium Health Ballpark, the Shorebirds cut a four-run hole to one in the ninth and left it there. Kannapolis 5, Delmarva 4.

That is the official Kannapolis Cannon Ballers release on milb.com dated Sept. 4, 2026, and the MiLB final box. Shorebirds (44-86) and Cannon Ballers (70-60) were in game four of a six-game set that closes Delmarva’s regular season. The same club note said Kannapolis reached 70 wins for only the second time in the Atrium Health Ballpark era and still had a chance to set a franchise mark at 71 over the final two games.

Scoring, per the milb.com recap: Stiven Flores RBI single in the first made it 1-0; Jake Berkland RBI single in the second, 2-0. Miguel Rodriguez doubled home Stiven Martinez in the top of the fifth for Delmarva’s first run. Abraham Nunez answered with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fifth; Berkland’s sixth-inning groundout pushed Kannapolis ahead 4-1. Berkland later scored on a Delmarva error in the eighth for a 5-1 lead, the release said. Official play-by-play: Berkland scored from third on a pickoff throwing error charged to Shorebirds pitcher Adrian Heredia while Matthew Boughton struck out.

The ninth cut it to one. After three singles, Rodriguez walked with the bases loaded to make it 5-2. Jemone Nuel singled through the infield to score two and pull the Shorebirds within 5-4. Daniel Wright entered and struck out Joshua Liranzo looking for his first save of the season.

Official box: Andrew Berg (1-0) the winner after 1.1 scoreless relief innings; Braden Smith (0-1) the Shorebirds starter and loser (2.0 IP, 2 ER). Fabian Ysalla started for Kannapolis and allowed one run over 4.2 innings. Hits 11–11. Attendance 3,826. First pitch 7:00 p.m. Game time 3:03 in 92-degree, partly cloudy weather. The milb.com recap said two games remain in the 2026 season, including a Saturday night contest with Kannapolis left-hander Nick Pinto scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch.

Source: MiLB

Drawn from public records; drafted with AI and edited by Peter Gorman before publication.

Correction? Contact the editor.Our AI use

about 150 words

If the button fails, email talbotpatriot [at] proton.me with the same fields.

Signed comments are held for review, then published. Obvious spam is rejected before it reaches the editor. Letters and comments.

No published comments yet.