Delmarva 2, Savannah 1

The Savannah Sand Gnats began their eight-game road trip to the most northern destinations in the South Atlantic League by making the journey even longer, falling 2-1 to the Delmarva Shorebirds in 13 innings Monday night. Savannah (16-9) leads the Greenville Drive, who were postponed by rain, by one half game for first place in the SAL Southern Division.

With two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning, Shorebirds shortstop Gary Helmick singled cleanly into left field to drive home Michael Planeta, who had tripled earlier, with the winning run. Gnats reliever Brandon Sage, who had entered the game in the 11th inning, was charged with his first loss.

Savannah wasted an excellent outing from RHP Taylor Whitenton. Whitenton shut out Delmarva through six innings, giving up just three hits, while striking out a career-high nine batters.

The Gnats scored their only run in the sixth. LF Juan Lagares reached on an error, and SS Wilmer Flores doubled him home.

The Shorebirds (14-10) tied the game up against reliever Darin Gorski in the bottom of the eighth inning. A two-out single tied the game, but Gorski left the bases loaded to help send the game into extras.

The Gnats and Shorebirds play game two of their four-game set Tuesday at 10:35 AM, the earliest start of the season for Savannah