CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks' Offense Leads Way to Sweep

Published on May 11, 2013 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Frederick, MD - The Wilmington Blue Rocks used the big inning to take two wins from the Frederick Keys on Saturday night. The Rocks got a five-run sixth in the opener on their way to a 6-4 triumph. The Blue Crew then used a four-run fourth, a five-run fifth and an eight-run seventh on their way to an 18-5 laugher in the nightcap.

The Rocks erased a 2-0 deficit in game one courtesy of a five-run sixth inning. Tim Berry dominated the Blue Crew over his first five frames, but the southpaw ran into some issues in his last inning of work. Justin Trapp got the inning started by legging out an infield single to short. Jorge Bonifacio then drew a one-out walk, which brought up Cheslor Cuthbert with runners at first and second and one out. Berry appeared to get himself out of the inning by inducing a dead-double play grounder to short, but Starr booted it, and the Rocks took advantage.

Lane Adams followed with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right that cut the deficit in half. With two down in the inning, Jack Lopez provided the biggest little play of the night. His perfectly placed bunt scored Bonifacio to tie the game and kept the inning going. Parker Morin gave Wilmington the lead with an RBI single to left and Kenny Diekroeger provided the Rocks with all the insurance they would need, courtesy of a two-run hit to right.

There was more drama than Wilmington had in mind though late. The Blue Crew took a 6-2 lead into the final frame and brought closer Robinson Yambati into the contest to close the door. Off the heels of a blown save during which he committed two errors last weekend, Yambati was hoping for an uneventful outing on Saturday. The right-handed reliever did not get his wish.

Yambati faced five batters and watched four of them reach base safely. Glynn Davis opened the frame with a single and then Johnny Ruettiger drew a free pass. After striking out Sammie Starr, Yambati completely lost his command. A free pass to Zane Chavez loaded the bases and another walk to Allen de San Miguel forced in a run and ended Yambati's night.

Vance Wilson called on southpaw reliever Antonio Cruz, who induced a soft chopper to second off the bat of Travis Adair. Trapp charged the ball, but had it short-hop off the edge of his glove, causing a bobble that gave Adair just enough time to beat the infielder's throw to first. As a result, Wilmington's lead was down to 6-4 and the Keys still had the bases loaded with only one out.

Things looked bleak when Cruz fell behind Steve Bumbry two-balls-and-no-strikes, but the left-hander bounced back to throw three straight strikes for a pivotal second out of the inning. Cruz then got Connor Narron to hit a soft grounder to third that Cuthbert scooped up and took to the bag for a fielder's choice that gave Wilmington the win.

Wilmington rallied again in the nightcap, erasing a 5-0 deficit with a trio of crooked numbers in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings. The Rocks batted around in the fourth on their way to four runs, then sent eight more men to the plate in a five-run fifth frame and finished the evening off with a 12-batter, eight-run seventh.

The offensive onslaught started with an inning-opening error by the Keys. Wilmington capitalized by stringing together four straight hits, including a two-run double by Jordan Schlehuber and a two-tally triple by Lopez. The shortstop came up with another big hit in the fifth, slicing a two-RBI single to right which put the Rocks in front. Diekroeger and Alex Hudak followed with back-to-back home runs which gave Wilmington plenty of cushion.

The Rocks poured it on in the seventh. Wilmington scored a season-high eight runs in the frame on seven hits and two Keys errors. Lopez had the frame's big blow with a three-run bomb to left. He tied the Blue Rocks' franchise-record with a career-high seven RBIs and came just a double shy of hitting for the cycle.

The Rocks continue their four-game series in Frederick on Sunday at 2 p.m. Kyle Smith (1-1, 2.01) gets the ball for Wilmington against Keys righty Zach Petersime (2-0, 6.94).

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Carolina League Stories from May 11, 2013


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