The Jersey Shore BlueClaws found themselves in the middle of a tough but competitive home series this past week against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at ShoreTown Ballpark.
The series felt like a measuring-stick matchup for Jersey Shore because Greensboro came into town as one of the hotter teams in the South Atlantic League.
Greensboro opened the series Tuesday with a 4-1 win after launching three home runs. Jersey Shore struggled to generate offense early in the series and couldn’t keep up with Greensboro’s power bats.
The BlueClaws bounced back on Wednesday in what was probably their best overall performance of the week. Jersey Shore’s pitching staff completely settled things down, retiring the final 16 Greensboro hitters consecutively in a huge 3-2 win.
That game showed the identity this BlueClaws team wants to have this year. They have solid pitching, timely hitting, and shut games down late.
Thursday was another rough night for Jersey Shore’s pitching staff. Greensboro’s Axiel Plaz exploded for two home runs and four hits as the Grasshoppers beat Jersey Shore 6-0. The loss dropped the BlueClaws to 16-19 at that point in the season and really highlighted the inconsistency the lineup has battled during stretches this year.
But the BlueClaws answered in a big way on Saturday with an 8-1 win that felt like one of their cleaner games of the homestand. The offense finally broke through while the pitching staff kept Greensboro quiet most of the night. This was one of the better games played in the series. The BlueClaws made sure they had the effort to put this team away in the best way possible.
However, in the last game of the series on Sunday, the BlueClaws fell 18-7. The team struggled more offensively than not.
Currently sitting in fifth place in the South Atlantic League North Division at 17-21, the BlueClaws will return to action on Tuesday, May 19, when they travel to Wilmington, Del., to face the Blue Rocks.
