Blue Rocks Too Much to Handle for Keys
Published on June 9, 2018 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release
Wilmington, DE - In a wild night of offense, the Wilmington Blue Rocks (28-34) outlasted the Frederick Keys (25-33) 10-6 at Frawley Stadium on Saturday night. Eight out of the nine starting Blue Rocks picked up a hit in the winning effort with Nick Heath and Gabriel Cancel leading the way with three. Cancel also drove in three of Wilmington's 10 runs in the triumph. Both offenses combined for 29 total hits in the ballgame.
The Blue Rocks bats were shut down in the first game of the series with Frederick, but did not let that happen on Saturday night. In the bottom of the first, Khalil Lee legged out a two-run triple to put the Rocks in front 2-0. Cancel would add to the tally with a double that was deep enough to score Lee and make it a 3-0 ballgame. Xavier Fernandez put another run on the board with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-0. The Keys put together a response in the top of the second with an RBI groundout by Cole Billingsley to cut the score down to 4-1.
After a two-run single by Cancel to make it 6-1, Frederick closed the gap in the top of the fifth. Ryan McKenna put the game within reach with a two-run home run down the left field line to make it 6-3. Two batters later, Preston Palmeiro also went yard, this time to center, to bring the Keys within one, making it 6-5. The rallying Rocks earned plenty of insurance in their half of the fifth. Kort Peterson got the scoring started with his eighth home run of the year with a two-run blast, to extend Wilmington's lead, 8-5. An RBI groundout by Heath and an RBI single by D.J. Burt got the Blue Rocks into double digits with a 10-5 lead in which they would not relinquish.
Wilmington reliever Carter Hope was the fireman in the winning effort. Hope went 4.1 innings, giving up only four hits, one earned run, and one walk while striking out one batter. The only blemish in Hope's performance was in the top of the sixth when he gave up an RBI single to Wilson Garcia to get Frederick an inch closer, making it 10-6. That was the final effort from Frederick as any comeback efforts were snuffed out by the right-hander as he earned his second win of the season.
The Rocks will go for the series win on Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. at Frawley Stadium and finish the homestand with a 6-1 record. Wilmington will send right-hander Arnaldo Hernandez (6-3, 3.95 ERA) to the mound. He will be opposed by Frederick's righty Ofelky Peralta (1-6, 6.64 ERA). Fans can also tune into the game with Matt Janus and Cory Nidoh on 89.7 WGLS-FM.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
The Rocks' offense rebounded nicely in the middle game of the series after being held to two runs on eight hits in the series opening loss Friday. In the 10-6 win, the Blue Rocks opened the game with a four-run first inning, added two more in the second and pulled away for good in the fifth with another four spot on the board. The two teams combined for 29 hits and 16 runs, with Wilmington pounding out 15 hits, one shy of the single-game season-high of 16 which happened on May 2 at Potomac.
Second baseman Gabriel Cancel has enjoyed hitting out of the cleanup spot over the last three games and overall, putting together and impressive homestand offensively. Cancel went 3-for-5 Saturday night with two runs scored, a double and drove in three runs. Through the first six games of the homestand, Cancel is hitting .523 (11-for-21) with six runs scored and five RBI.
With the win, the Rocks snapped a six-game losing streak against the Keys. The Blue Rocks took the first four of five against the Keys before dropping the next six prior to Saturday's victory. Wilmington will look to earn their third straight series win on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match against Frederick and go 6-1 on the homestand which would be their best home stretch of the season. Wilmington is 3-4 in rubber match contests this season.
Carolina League Stories from June 9, 2018
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- Salem Pounded 10-3 by Pelicans Saturday - Salem RidgeYaks
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