The Firebirds paid their first visit to Red Wilson Field on Friday night, hoping to snap a two-game skid after dropping two straight to Chatham.
Over the last week of play, the Birds' hitting numbers have been steadily trending upward, outside of their two-hit performance against the Anglers on the eve of July Fourth. In their second look at Y-D this summer, the Birds looked not only to continue improving their hit numbers but also to start capitalizing with runners on base.
The Birds would have an opportunity to do just that as early as the first inning, as Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) and Khadim Diaw (Loyola Marymount) both moved into scoring position after a Dan Bucciero (Fordham) groundout. However, the story remained the same, and the Birds couldn't capitalize, stranding both Shupe and Diaw in scoring position.
The leadoff man for the Red Sox, Drew Burress, quickly made the Birds regret not being able to bring in at least one of their two base runners in the top frame, as he sent the first pitch he saw over the right field wall.
Looking to respond to the sudden 1-0 deficit, Austin Smith (San Diego) gave the Birds their second hit of the night with a single and quickly moved to second after Colin Tuft (Tulane) was hit by a pitch. After a wild pitch once again moved the bases for Orleans, the Birds just needed to put a ball in play to bring Tuft the 90 feet home.
In his first game back in a week, Lorenzo Meola (Stetson) did just that, putting down a ground ball that brought in Smith and put Tuft on third.
Following Meola's sacrifice RBI and with only one out on the board, Hudson Shupe did his job and laid down a perfect dribbler down the first base line, allowing Tuft to run in the go-ahead score.
The Birds would only enjoy the 2-1 lead for another inning, as the Sox brought in a runner off third to tie the game and didn't look back. A four-run fourth inning ballooned the Y-D lead to 6-2, and Wehiwa Aloy's fourth home run in two games effectively ended the game, pushing the score up to 11-3.
The Firebirds hope to get back on track in front of the Firebird faithful on Saturday night in a matchup against the Harbor Hawks.
