CarL1 Salem RidgeYaks

Sox Roar Back to Win 11-6 Over Rocks

Published on August 5, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


Salem, VA (August 5, 2010)- Salem overcame two separate four-run deficits by scoring the final nine runs of the game en route to an 11-6 victory over the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Thursday night at Lewis-Gale Field. Oscar Tejeda and Will Middlebrooks each delivered two-run homers as the Red Sox rallied from a hole of greater than three runs for just the second time all season.

Despite falling behind 4-0 after half an inning, the resilient Salem offense scored in three consecutive innings from the second to the fourth to erase the early Blue Rock advantage. Jon Hee got things rolling with a one-out infield single in the second to score Alex Hassan from third and draw Salem within three. Mitch Dening followed up with a sac fly to center to make it 4-2 Wilmington after two.

Nick Francis put the Blue Rocks back up by four with a two-run shot off of Mark Holliman in the top of the third inning. Salem responded by trimming the deficit back to three in the bottom half of the third, as Tim Federowicz brought home Tejeda with a sac fly to center to pull the Sox within three.

An inning later, the Sox brought the ballgame back to square one. Hee walked with one away and advanced to third on a single by Dening, putting runners on the corners. Peter Hissey's RBI grounder cur the deficit to two, and Tejeda followed that with a two-out, two-run blast to left-center to tie the game at six. Tejeda's round tripper was his ninth of the season, but first since May 30 at Potomac, a span of 213 at-bats without a home run.

Despite Holliman's rough start, the Salem bullpen combo of Seth Garrison and Pat Ryan retired all 12 batters it faced in the final four innings to give the Sox offense a chance to surge ahead.

The Salem offense obliged by scoring another trio of runs in the bottom half of the seventh, all with two outs. After the first two batters were quickly retired, Middlebrooks doubled to right-center and Hassan walked to put runners on first and second. Federowicz then doubled over the head of the center fielder Patrick Norris, bringing home both runners to give the Sox their first lead of the night at 8-6. Dan Butler joined the hit parade by ripping a two-bagger to deep center as well, scoring Federowicz to make it 9-6. On the night, the Sox scored nine runs with two outs, including all three in the decisive seventh.

Middlebrooks capped off the offensive explosion with a mammoth, two-out, two-run bomb in the bottom of the eighth that cleared the tree line across the street beyond the left field wall to extend the Sox advantage to 11-6. Despite missing the last two games, Middlebrooks didn't miss a beat Thursday, driving in two runs to go along with a double and homer, his 11th of the season.

Tejeda tallied three hits in four at bats, scoring three times and driving in two runs, raising his average to .317, third-best in the Carolina League. Federowicz delivered three RBI and Ryan Dent recorded his third multi-hit game in his last four contests.

The victory clinched the season series for Salem against Wilmington, as the Sox have now won 11 of 14 matchups with the Blue Rocks. The Rocks and Sox continue their four-game series on Friday night at 7:05 PM. Righthander Stolmy Pimentel retakes the mound for Salem opposite Wilmington southpaw Buddy Baumann.

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Carolina League Stories from August 5, 2010


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