Salem Sweeps Wilmington with 3-2 Thursday Victory
June 17, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release
Salem, VA (June 17, 2010) - After jumping out to big leads in the first two games against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Salem Sox needed a late run to win Thursday night's contest and sweep the series against the Blue Crew. Peter Hissey's one-out single in the bottom of the eighth scored Mitch Dening and Kyle Fernandes pitched a perfect ninth as the Sox edged the Rocks 3-2 on Thursday night at Lewis-Gale Field.
Facing Wilmington reliever Harold Mozingo, Dening got the rally started with a seeing-eye single past the shortstop with one out. After a lengthy at-bat, Hissey drove Mozingo's offering to right-center where right fielder Nick Francis misjudged the ball and let it skip by him, enabling Dening to come around from first with the go-ahead run. Hissey advanced to third, but was thrown out trying to score on a ground ball by Ryan Lavarnway one batter later.
Aside from Hissey's late-inning heroics, the story of the game was the pitching duel between Salem's Brock Huntzinger and Wilmington's John Lamb. Huntzinger looked like an All-Star with his sixth quality start of the season. The 21-year old righthander dropped his ERA from 2.99 to 2.83 with a fantastic seven innings on the mound, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out two and walking one. Huntzinger's lone mistake was a solo home run by Adam Frost in the sixth inning. The Pendleton, Indiana native didn't figure in the final decision as Wilmington tied the game in the eighth inning off Fernandes.
Lamb was almost as good as Huntzinger, tossing six innings while giving up two runs and striking out six. Lamb allowed his first run in the third, as Alex Hassan led off with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and raced home on a passed ball to make it 1-0 Salem. The Sox increased their advantage in the fifth as Ryan Dent singled in Tim Federowicz, who had doubled to lead off the frame.
Wilmington tied the game in the eighth off Fernandes, but stranded the potential go-ahead run at third. After back-to-back singles by Salvador Perez and Rey Navarro led off the inning, Frost sacrificed both runners into scoring position. With the infield playing back, the shortstop Dent made a fantastic diving stop on a ground ball by Patrick Norris to save one run from scoring, but Perez scored to tie the game at two. With runners on the corners, Fernandes (3-1) struck out Adrian Ortiz and Francis to end the threat. The southpaw retired the Blue Rocks 1-2-3 in the ninth to clinch the series sweep.
The victory was the ninth consecutive and the ninth in ten attempts for the Sox against Wilmington this year, improving upon a Salem baseball record. The Sox had previously took two out of three from the Rocks at Lewis-Gale Field in late April and swept the Blue Crew in four contests at Frawley Stadium in early May.
The Sox still have a chance at the first half Southern Division crown, as Winston-Salem lost their series finale to Frederick 6-3. The Sox sit 2.5 games back with three to play, as the Dash have to continue a game in which they trail 6-0 against Wilmington after three innings before playing their regularly-scheduled three-game set against the Blue Rocks in Delaware this weekend.
Salem will look to extend their three-game winning streak and take care of business against the Kinston Indians this weekend, a squad the Sox are just 2-5 against this year. The first pitch in the Roanoke Valley Friday night is set for 7:05 PM as Fabian Williamson gets the start for the Sox against the K-Tribe's T.J. House.
• Discuss this story on the Carolina League message board...
Carolina League Stories from June 17, 2010
- Nothing Goes Right as Pelicans Drop Finale - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Volquez Dominates in Doubleheader Split - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Alaniz Dominates, P-Nats Crush Pelicans in Series Finale - Potomac Nationals
- Dash Drop Series Finale, 6-3 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Britton's Four Hits Bash Dash - Frederick Keys
- Salem Sweeps Wilmington with 3-2 Thursday Victory - Salem Red Sox
- Salem Sweeps Rocks with 3-2 Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Axelrod Promoted to AA Birmingham - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- K-Tribe June 17 Doubleheader Notes - Kinston Indians
- Leroy Hunt Activated off D.L. - Winston-Salem Dash
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
