SALISBURY, Md. (WHKY) — The Hickory Crawdads erased an early deficit with relentless offense Friday night, collecting 16 hits and scoring in seven different innings to roll past the Delmarva Shorebirds 14-2 at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

The victory kept Hickory atop the Carolina League South second-half standings while improving the Crawdads to 58-39 overall.

Hickory wasted little time getting on the board in the first inning. Marco Argudin singled and eventually scored when Pablo Guerrero grounded out, giving the Crawdads a 1-0 lead.

Delmarva answered immediately, however. Jaiden Lo Re opened the bottom of the first with a solo home run, and the Shorebirds added another run later in the inning on a throwing error to take a 2-1 advantage.

That lead lasted only an inning.

The Crawdads responded with a two-run second as Kaden Carpenter doubled before Daniel Flames tied the game with an RBI double. Sebastian Baquera followed with a single, and Yolfran Castillo executed a sacrifice bunt that brought Flames home for a 3-2 Hickory lead.

From there, Hickory never looked back.

The Crawdads added three more runs in the fourth inning. Flames doubled to begin the rally before Castillo delivered an RBI single. Guerrero followed with an RBI base hit, and Noah Franklin reached on a throwing error that allowed another run to score, stretching the advantage to 6-2.

Hickory padded its lead again in the sixth. Paulino Santana tripled into the right-field corner before Guerrero drove him home with a single. Two batters later, Carpenter launched his first home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center, making it 8-2.

The offense kept producing in the seventh when Argudin singled and Santana lined an RBI single to center to plate Deward Tovar, extending the margin to seven runs.

Any remaining suspense disappeared in the ninth.

After Castillo’s sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Argudin made it 11-2, Santana delivered the biggest swing of the night, blasting a three-run home run to right field for his 12th homer of the season and a commanding 14-2 lead.

Santana finished 3-for-5 with a triple, home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. Argudin also collected three hits and scored twice, while Guerrero went 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Carpenter added two hits, including a double and his first homer of the year, while Flames doubled twice and scored twice.

On the mound, Hickory settled down after the rocky first inning. Starter Mason McConnaughey allowed two runs in the opening frame before exiting after one inning.

Jormy Nivar (5-0) was outstanding in relief, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and one walk with two strikeouts to earn the victory. Louis Marinaro added a scoreless seventh before Geury Rodriguez worked the final two innings to complete the win.

Despite committing three errors, the Crawdads held Delmarva to just one run after the first inning and stranded 10 Shorebirds baserunners.

Hickory and Delmarva continue their six-game series Saturday evening at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

{Information provided by the Hickory Crawdads}