CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Dash Doubles Up Blue Rocks to Take Rubber Match

Published on May 2, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - After one inning on Sunday afternoon at Frawley Stadium, the Wilmington Blue Rocks seemed poised to take their rubber match of a three-game weekend series with the Winston-Salem Dash. The Rocks raced out to a 4-0 lead in the opening frame, and Ivor Hodgson had set the Dash down 1-2-3 in the top half of the inning. But from there forward Winston-Salem showed why it has the highest team-batting average in all of Minor League Baseball, scoring 14 unanswered runs on its way to a 14-7 victory.

The Rocks scored four in the first on a sacrifice fly by Jamie Romak, a two-run double into the right-field corner by Salvador Perez and an RBI single by Ryan Wood.

Winston-Salem wasted little time cutting into the advantage as the Dash plated a pair of two-out runs in the second. Justin Greene scored Ozzie Lewis and Jordan Cheatham with his line-drive knock back through the box.

The Dash took the lead with three more two-out runs in the fourth. Cheatham made it a 4-3 game with his liner into centerfield. Justin Greene followed with a bunt-single and both men came around to score on Brandon Short's RBI double to dead-center.

Hodgson's day ended in the fifth as he let the first three batters of the inning reach base. Seth Loman walked and Lewis singled, which set up Jason Bour's groundrule double to left.

Hodgson was replaced by newcomer Harold Mozingo, who was making his Blue Rocks debut after joining Wilmington from Low-A Burlington on Friday. The right-hander received a baptism by fire to say the least.

He walked the first batter he faced and after inducing a foul-pop to the catcher, surrendered a three-run homer off the bat of Justin Greene. The dinger turned a competitive 7-4 contest into a laugher.

Mozingo was hit around some more in the sixth. Four straight one-out hits and a sacrifice fly made it a 10-run Dash lead. Lewis got things started again with his fourth single in as many at-bats. Bour then singled, which was followed by an RBI double off the bat of Shelton. Jordan Cheatham plated two more tallies with his triple to right. Greene's flyball to left was deep enough to score Cheatham and capped the Dash's third straight multi-run frame.

Eight of the Dash's nine position players reached base. Lewis led the way getting five hits and scoring four times.

Wilmington added three runs for good measure in the seventh. Fernando Garcia lofted a sac fly to left, Patrick Norris added an RBI grounder, while Adrian Ortiz scored the day's final run on an error by Winston-Salem pitcher Dylan Axelrod.

Dash starter Charlie Leesman (4-1) got the win. He settled down nicely after his first-inning issues, surrendering only two more hits over his final four frames of work.

Wilmington welcomes the Salem Red Sox into Frawley Stadium for a four-game series, starting on Monday night at 6:35 p.m. Wilmington sends southpaw Chris Dwyer (0-1, 3.57) to the hill, while Salem is scheduled to counter with right-hander Caleb Clay (1-0, 3.66). The Rocks dropped two-of-three in Salem last week. It is the Sox' first trip to the Riverfront in 2010.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Winston-Salem's 14 runs were the second-most surrendered by the Wilmington pitching staff in 2010. The Rocks yielded 15 runs to the Salem Red Sox on April 27. The Dash's 18 hits were the most allowed by Wilmington this season.

Winston-Salem continues to pace Minor League Baseball with a stellar team-batting average of .319.

Joe McEwing was ejected after the day's most bizarre play. With a runner at second in the fourth, Ivor Hodgson threw what appeared to be a wild pitch. But home plate umpire Shaylor Smith threw his arms up and awarded Drew Garcia first base, saying the ball hit Garcia's foot. A several-minute argument ensued, eventually leading to the skipper's heave-ho.

Ozzie Lewis' five-hit day was the first time an opponent managed that many hits against the Rocks since June 21, 2008. That day it was done by Winston-Salem outfielder Paulo Orlando. Orlando would be traded to the Kansas City organization later that season, and finished the campaign as a Blue Rock.

The Kansas City Royals announced a trade on Sunday morning that will have an impact on the Wilmington Blue Rocks roster. Former Blue Crewer Carlos Rosa, who spent 2007 on the Riverfront, was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In return the Royals received minor league shortstop Rey Navarro. It has been reported by various media outlets that Navarro is expected to join the Blue Rocks sometime early next week. In 19 games with the Advanced-A Visalia Raw Hide of the California League, Navarro batted .241 with one home run and seven RBIs. He was rated by Baseball America as Arizona's No. 12 prospect prior to this season and was also tabbed as the best defensive infielder in the D-Backs system.

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Carolina League Stories from May 2, 2010


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