Sports stats



CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks defeat Myrtle Beach Pelicans

April 10, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Myrtle Beach, SC - For the third time in as many games on the young year, the Wilmington Blue Rocks (0-3) grabbed an early lead but watched it vanish late as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (3-0) rallied for a 6-4 defeat of the Blue Crew Saturday night. Four times the Blue Rocks owned an advantage, and four times they gave it away on this particular evening. A three-run seventh put the Pelicans ahead to stay as reliever James Thompson (0-1) took the loss. Twice the Rocks left the bases loaded, while Wilmington pitching issued 11 walks and its batters whiffed 10 times.

A picket-fence scoreboard consistently saw Myrtle Beach respond every time the Blue Rocks took a lead. Eric Hosmer started the scoring with a first-pitch triple to begin the second inning. Jamie Romak ushered the prospect home with a right-side broken-bat groundout for a 1-0 margin against starter Zeke Spruill.

Wilmington starter and major Royals prospect Chris Dwyer walked Gerry Rodriguez to begin the next half inning. Rodriguez stole second and scored two batters later on a Jesus Sucre RBI single for a 1-1 draw. That refrain repeated itself often as single scores by the Blue Crew in the fourth and fifth again saw the same from Myrtle Beach.

Romak singled home Hosmer in the fourth before Sucre knocked in Rodriguez the next half inning. In the fifth, a bases-loaded nobody-out situation had Wilmington sitting pretty before an odd 7-5 double play off the bat of Alex Gordon allowed J.D. Alfaro to tag and score from third, but nothing more. Dwyer did not begin the bottom of the fifth after issuing three walks and stranding the bases loaded the prior frame. His replacement, Thompson, missed the zone on his first dozen pitches of the fifth to load the bases. He then minimized damage in the bases-loaded nobody-out jam, inducing a 5-4-3 double play from Rodriguez that scored a run, however, held the scoring there.

Alas, Wilmington's final lead would again be short lived in the seventh. With one out, Alfaro hit a fly ball to center that Jhadiel Santamaria inexplicably dropped for a two-base error. Patrick Norris singled Alfaro to third and Adrian Ortiz batted him home with a poke to center for a 4-3 Wilmington lead. The very next half-inning though, Myrtle chased Thompson and put a three-spot on the board to take the lead for good.

With Adam Milligan on first and two outs, Rodriguez smacked an RBI double to right. Manager Brian Rupp went to his bullpen and southpaw Buddy Baumann as lefty Gerardo Avila was due up. Baumann jumped ahead 0-2 in the count, but Avila battled to bring it full and connected on a run-scoring single to right for the Pelicans' first lead. A couple of wild pitches combined with a Sucre single to score Avila as Myrtle stretched its advantage to the final margin, 6-4.

The Blue Rocks had their chances, but left the bases loaded in the seventh against reliever Chad Rodgers (1-0). Closer Jaye Chapman whiffed the side 1-2-3 in the eighth, but faced the rehabbing Gordon as the game's tying run with two outs in the ninth. Alas, Gordon flied out to center field as Chapman garnered his first save of 2010.

The four-game series concludes on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. Last year's Opening Day starter for the Blue Rocks, right-hander Alex Caldera (NR), will make his 2010 debut on the starting bump. Piggybacker Ivor Hodgson (NR) will follow for his first Advanced-A outing. Myrtle Beach will give the ball to right-hander J.J. Hoover (NR). The Blue Rocks seek to avoid their first four-game sweep at the hands of the Pelicans since 2001.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics



Carolina League Stories from April 10, 2010


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.

OurSports Central