SAL Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks Split Doubleheader with Hot Rods

Published on May 17, 2022 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Following a series win against fellow South Atlantic League North Division foe, the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Wilmington Blue Rocks were back in action on Tuesday, May 17 to face off against the team who is last place in the North, the Jersey Shore BlueClaws.

The result was an offensive outburst for the Blue Rocks, taking home a 12-7 victory in Game One of the series.

Drew Mendoza led the way on offense with a 3-4 day, belting a home run, a double, and driving in 5 RBI in the process. Two other Blue Rocks' had multiple hit games, with Israel Pineda going 2-4 with an RBI and Jose Sanchez also going 2-4. Ricardo Mendez was the only other Blue Rock besides Mendoza with multiple RBI, driving in two.

Wilmington wasted no time getting going in this one, as a first inning blast by right fielder Yasel Antuna gave the Blue Rocks an early 1-0 advantage.

The bottom of the second had even better things in store for the offense. Following singles by Mendoza and Jose Sanchez, Gage Canning reached on an error, which then allowed Jordy Barley to take one for the team and drive in an RBI with a groundout.

Then, after a walk by Darren Baker loaded up the bases once again, Ricardo Mendez drove in two more runs with a single to extend the lead to 4-0.

The offense parade would not stop there, however. After an Israel Pineda single that brought home Baker, Mendoza, batting for the second time in the inning, blasted a double down the right field line to clear the bases and make it an 8-0 lead for the Blue Rocks.

The explosive inning did not deter the BlueClaws one bit. Directly after the Blue Rocks' seven run bottom of the second, Jersey Shore struck back with a seven run inning of their own that included two RBI singles, a bases clearing double, and a two run home run to shorten the deficit to 8-7.

The Blue Rocks stayed resilient throughout the game, not allowing another run to score after the BlueClaws' explosive third inning. Drew Mendoza broke the ice on the one run game in the bottom of the fifth, with a two run home run to bring home Israel Pineda and extend the lead to 10-7. A wild pitch and a fielding error by Jersey Shore in the bottom of the sixth brought home Wilmington's final two runs of the game to make it 12-7.

Outside of the top of the third inning, it was an absolutely dominant performance from the Blue Rocks in all aspects of the game. Wilmington will be looking to take care of business once again on Wednesday, May 18 in Game Two of this six game series against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 17, 2022


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