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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Crow Dominant as Rocks Prevail

September 1, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - Aaron Crow was brilliant, the Wilmington offense did just enough and the Blue Rocks bullpen held on for dear life. Add everything up and it equaled a 3-2 victory for the Blue Crew over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Wednesday night at Frawley Stadium. The win helped Wilmington stay with 1.5 games of Potomac in the race for a CL North second-half crown. The P-Nats beat Salem,

Crow (2-2) was dominant. The right-hander fanned a career-high 13 in 6.2 scoreless frames. He started the game in style striking out the side in the first. Then, after a lead-off double in the second, he retired 11 in a row.

The 2009 first-round pick recorded all three outs in an inning on strikes three times. He set down the side in order three times and allowed only two men into scoring position all night.

His effort was necessary because the Blue Crew offense was squandering opportunities left and right. The Rocks left 11 men on base, five of which were in scoring position. Five times in the first six innings Wilmington put its first batter on base, and only one of those runners came around to score.

All three of the Rocks' run came in the fourth. Ernesto Mejia got the frame going with his single to left. That was followed by a Nick Francisline-drive knock to right. On the play, Mejia circled around to third and Francis snuck up to second on Myrtle Beach's attempt to cut down the lead runner. Salvador Perez then came through with an RBI grounder to short that scored Mejia and moved Francis 90 feet from home.

Rey Navarro finally got Wilmington a clutch hit when he roped a grounder just inside the third-base line for an RBI double. He scored one out later on a Patrick Norris grounder past short. The three-run frame gave Wilmington what seemed like a safe 3-0 advantage.

Crow was pulled when he reached his pitch count after fanning the first two batters of the seventh. Ryan Dennick entered out of the 'pen and ran into some trouble. He allowed a single and plunked a batter to bring the tying run to the plate. But Dennick whiffed Braeden Schlehuber to keep the shutout intact.

In the eighth, the Pelicans finally broke through. Cole Miles opened the frame with a single and Ryan Gosselin doubled to put runners at second and third with no outs. After Dennick fanned Gerry Rodriguez, a critical error pulled the Pelicans to within a single score.

Mike Jones hit a sharp grounder just to the left of Navarro at second base. He shifted to field it, but lost his footing right as the ball arrived. It caromed off his glove, between his legs and into right field. Two runs scored on the play and it was, 3-2. After Cody Johnson flied out to right-center, Manauris Baez was inserted into the game to face Jordan Kreke. The right-hander induced another fly ball to right to end the inning.

In the ninth, Myrtle Beach put two men on against Baez, but he whiffed Gosselin to nail down the win. The effort was good for his third save of the season.

Matt Crim (7-11) took the loss for Myrtle Beach. The southpaw scattered 11 hits over 5.2 innings, allowing three runs.

Wilmington looks for a series victory on Thursday night, as it hosts the Pelicans one last time in 2010 at 6:35 p.m. ET. Buddy Baumann (4-2, 2.27) hits the hill for the Rocks against Pelicans right-hander Zeke Spruill (3-5, 5.64).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Wilmington Blue Rocks established a new franchise record for strikeouts in a single season on Tuesday night. The Blue Crew added to that mark on Wednesday, fanning 16 to bring its season total over 1,100 at 1,103. The previous record had been held by the 1999 Blue Rocks, who registered 1,090 punchouts as a staff. This year's team leads the Carolina League in K's.

Wednesday marked the third time in 2010 a Blue Rock starter has fanned 13. Michael Montgomery did it in his second start of the season against the Kinston Indians in April, while Chris Dwyer did it over a two-day stretch during a suspended game with the Winston-Salem Dash in June.

All nine Blue Rocks batters had at least one base-knock in the win. Adam Frost and Patrick Norris were the only two Blue Crewers to turn in multi-hit performances. Frost earned his way on by legging out a pair of infield hits, while Norris finished with a single, a double and an RBI.

Wilmington won, but it was not easy. The Rocks went just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. The Rocks also bounced into a pair of double plays and left the bases loaded in the sixth. Wilmington has had two or fewer hits with men at second and/or third in three of its last four games.

The Rocks improved their league-best record in one-run games. Wilmington is now 25-15 on the season in contests decided by a single score.

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