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Edmonton Oil Kings

Rocks Split Double-Header with Pelicans on Final Saturday of Regular Season

September 5, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


WILMINGTON, Del. - The Blue Rocks played a pair of contests against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Saturday, losing the front end of the double-header 4-2 before taking the nightcap 6-2. Ashton Goudeau made the spot-start in game two, getting the win and helping the Blue Crew end their six-game losing streak. Humberto Arteaga picked up two hits and three RBIs in the victory.

In game one, Myrtle Beach broke onto the scoreboard very early by plating a run in the top of the first. Pin-Chieh Chen delivered a one-out double, and eventually came home on Jason Vosler's single. Wilmington starter Zach Lovvorn settled down to escape the inning unscathed after that.

The Rocks provided a quick response, taking the lead in the bottom of the frame. Carlos Garcia and Jack Lopez set the table with a walk and a bunt single respectively to lead off the inning. The next man up, Mauricio Ramos, crushed a double to the left-field wall that scored both men, handing Wilmington a 2-1 lead at the end of the first.

The Pelicans came all the way back and then some in the decisive fifth inning. Daniel Lockhart got the offense started in the frame with a run-scoring double, and Vosler gave the Pelicans the lead with a two-RBI single later on. The Rocks were held scoreless the rest of the way, and Wilmington fell 4-2 in game one.

The back-end of the double-header was a different story, as Goudeau took matters into his own hands. Goudeau gave the Blue Rocks six innings, yielding only two runs (one earned) on two hits and a pair of walks while striking out six. His offense came to his support with a four-run bottom of the second inning. Arteaga got Wilmington on the board with a two-RBI infield single, then two batters later, Logan Moon delivered a pair of runs with a base hit of his own.

Although Myrtle Beach got two back in the fourth courtesy of a Ben Carhart two-run homer, the Rocks scratched across more later in the ballgame. Lopez squeeze-bunted Alfredo Escalera home in the fourth, and Arteaga cracked a double that chased Ryan O'Hearn to the plate in the fifth, capping the scoring at 6-2.

The Rocks and Pelicans do battle once again on Sunday. First pitch from Frawley Stadium is scheduled for 1:35 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Blue Rocks will be playing postseason baseball this fall, but you wouldn't know it going by their second-half record. After Saturday's split of a double-header, Wilmington has recorded 44 losses since the All-Star break. The previous franchise-high in terms of defeats in a single half was 42, which was done in the second half of the 1997 campaign. Thanks in large part to their 38 first-half victories, Wilmington cannot reach 80 losses this year, which is the franchise-record for defeats in an entire season set by the 2005 squad. The Rocks have also lost the most road games in a single season, however, logging 44 setbacks away from Frawley Stadium in 2015. That mark eclipses the 43 losses recorded by the Rocks in both 2005 and 2011.

Ashton Goudeau gave Wilmington a much-needed quality start on Saturday. In game two of the twin-bill, the righty produced six innings, yielding two runs (one earned) on just two hits and two walks while striking out six. It was also his first win since his July 22 start at Salem. The last time Goudeau hit the bump prior to the nightcap of Saturday's double-header was on August 29, another game against the Pelicans. Goudeau gave the Rocks 3.2 frames that night, but gave up the walk-off homer to Jason Vosler in the bottom of the 12th to complete a 1-0 Wilmington loss. The Newport, Arkansas native made just the ninth professional start of his career on Saturday, with five now coming with Wilmington this season. Goudeau was a 27th round pick in the 2012 draft by the Kansas City Royals.

After going nearly a month without a hit, Santiago Nessy has started to come alive at the plate. The Venezuelan-native was mired in a 0-for-31 slump which spanned 11 games before breaking out of it with a single Myrtle Beach on August 27. Since then, he has gotten hits in three more contests to bring his hitting streak to four games. Nessy is certainly hoping he can produce more down the stretch than he did in the month of August. The former international signing by the Blue Jays batted .031 in August, compiling just one hit in 32 at-bats while driving in just one run and striking out 14 times. That came off of the catcher's best month with Wilmington. He batted .297 (11-for-37) in July with seven extra-base hits and six walks. On Saturday, Nessy played game two of the double-header and went 2-for-3 with a run scored. He is now batting .219 since coming down from Double-A Northwest Arkansas after he was traded to Kansas City the day after the Royals lost in Game Seven of the World Series.

THEY SAID IT:

Pitcher Zach Lovvorn:

"I felt like I was commanding all my pitches and throwing them all for strikes and had a really good rhythm going."

"(I) go out there every time trying to repeat the pitches and get ahead of the batters, so going out there and attacking hitters and getting ahead on the count."

"I don't think anything changed (in my pitching) it was getting latter in the game and into the dog days of the season so I am just trying to grind it out and make pitches."

"Every time (we pitch) we are (working on something) all the time. For me it was just to settle in my delivery, every pitch, every game."

"This was probably my third or fourth time (pitching a shortened game) and it is just like any other game just shorter."

"I do not have (any postseason experience.) I have been in the organization for four years and never have had a chance to play in a post season game so I am pretty excited about it."

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