RiverDogs rally past Shorebirds in ninth

A sacrifice fly by Francisco Arcia in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Ali Castillo with the winning run as the Charleston RiverDogs walked off with a 5-4 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds in front of 2,141 fans at Riley Park on Monday night.

The RiverDogs (21-8) remain in first place in the South Atlantic League’s Southern Division, while Delmarva drop to 14-16.

The rally started when Kelvin De Leon led off the ninth against Jose Nivar (0-3) by lining a double into the right-field corner. After Castillo pinch-ran for De Leon, Mason Williams was intentionally walked and Cito Culver was unintentionally walked, loading the bases and giving Arcia a chance to win the game.

Joel De La Cruz (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the win.

The RiverDogs faced highly touted prospect Dylan Bundy, who started the game for the Shorebirds. Bundy ended up being outdueled by Charleston’s Scottie Allen. In six innings of work, Allen allowed just three hits and one unearned run. He struck out a season-high six and walked one. The only run Delmarva got against him came when Brenden Webb doubled in the fifth and scored on an error by Casey Stevenson.

Bundy looked sharp in three innings of work, striking out eight, but Charleston did have some success against him. In the first inning, Gary Sanchez doubled, becoming the first runner to reach second against Bundy this season. Although Bundy escaped that inning, the RiverDogs pushed across an unearned run against him in the third.

Coming up
The RiverDogs finish up their seven-game homestand on Wednesday night when they send out RHP Will Oliver (1-2, 3.04 ERA) against Shorebirds lefty Tim Berry (1-4, 3.47 ERA).