CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Dash Dominates Rubber Match

Published on August 4, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Winston-Salem, NC - Known as a hitter's haven, BB&T Ballpark proved to be a territory of two extremes on Thursday night. Winston-Salem (54-54, 22-16) flourished with 11 runs on 16 hits, including a 7-for-15 showing with runners in scoring position. The Wilmington Blue Rocks (51-57, 15-24) failed to crack the scoreboard while amassing just five hits, all singles, and none in six attempts with men at second and/or third in an 11-0 loss. The Blue Crew lost for the sixth time in seven road games as it fell to 2-6 in rubber matches. The host Dash won for the 10th time in 12 games, securing its fourth straight series triumph.

Wilmington starter Tim Melville (8-7) followed a perfect first frame with a three-run second. Four of the first five Dash batters reached on hits in the process, with RBIs for Juan Silverio, Kevin Dubler and Austin Yount. Things worsened in the second as four of the first five reached again. The fourth such man, Dubler, did so on Melville's third walk of the inning. The free pass came with the bases loaded to make it 5-0 as Melville got the hook from manager Brian Rupp.

Moved to the bullpen earlier in the day, Michael Mariot then entered and retired the next two hitters on first-pitch contact. Part of that included a sacrifice fly by Yount to put the Blue Rocks in a 6-0 hole through three innings. Melville allowed six runs on six hits and three walks over 2.1 frames. He whiffed three and was charged with a wild pitch.

Hours before the game, it was announced that the expected starter, southpaw Joe Serafin, would be bumped back until Friday. Instead of the man the Blue Rocks have dominated for two years, prospect right-hander Andre Rienzo made his first start since coming off the disabled list. The hard-throwing Brazilian whiffed four over four scoreless innings of three-hit ball. His successor, Leroy Hunt (2-1), got the win behind him with three two-hit frames. Orlando Santos hurled the last two to complete the blanking.

Ian Gac singled in a run in the fourth. Run-scoring doubles by Dubler and Tyler Saladino made it 9-0 in the fifth. Bryan Paukovits' bases-loaded walk to Nick Cioli in the eighth combined with a passed ball by Travis Jones later in the inning to round out the scoring.

The six-game road trip moves to Lynchburg, VA as the Blue Rocks open a three-game set at City Stadium at 7:05 p.m. on Friday night. Wilmington southpaw Noel Arguelles (4-4, 2.90) faces former Princeton University Tiger David Hale (2-4, 3.30). Broadcast coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. as studio host Adam Dobrowolski brings fans the Rocks Report Pre-game Show, presented by Wawa, on 89.7 WGLS-FM and online at wgls.rowan.edu.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

With the loss, the Blue Rocks failed to secure their first back-to-back series wins since they took three sets in succession from Salem, Myrtle Beach and Frederick from May 16-25. The Rocks are 3-8 in series play on the second half.

Before the game, it was announced that Michael Mariot would return to the bullpen as Elisaul Pimentel rejoins the rotation. The ranked prospect is scheduled to start Saturday night's contest at Lynchburg while Noel Arguelles gets bumped up to tomorrow night. He will pitch on normal rest due to the Blue Rocks' day off on Monday before the road trip.

Winston-Salem made two more errors on the infield, lifting its league-high total to 127 in 108 games.

Leroy Hunt entered his outing with horrendous numbers against Wilmington hitters. In his prior outings, he amassed a 23.14 ERA, .643 batting average against and 5.57 WHIP before his three scoreless innings en route to the win on Thursday.

Despite the overall offensive misery for the squad, a silver lining had Nick Van Stratten reach base four times. He collected a pair of singles and walked twice.

Before the game, Joey Lewis was activated from the disabled list. He batted seventh and served as the DH. He went 1-for-4 with a hard single to right-center and three strikeouts.

The 11-run margin makes for the Blue Rocks' second-worst loss of the season. It trails only the 14-1 whipping at Potomac on July 2, which is the team's worst loss since 2005.

Wilmington's eighth shutout loss of the season is its first of the year to Winston-Salem and its first overall since a June 29 2-0 loss against the Salem Red Sox.

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