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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Eighth-Inning Rally Sinks Skoglund and the Rocks

May 29, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


WOODBRIDGE, VA - Eric Skoglund probably deserved a better fate on Friday night. The Wilmington starter needed just 66 pitches to get through the first seven frames, allowing only a single score in the process. Unfortunately for the Blue Rocks, Skoglund allowed three hits and two runs in the eighth, as Potomac took a 3-1 win. The setback cost Wilmington its shot at a series triumph, as the clubs split their three-day four-game set.

Potomac's eighth-inning onslaught was triggered by Estarlin Martinez. The outfielder crushed a liner to left and then hustled to second just ahead of Logan Moon's excellent throw. Narciso Mesa then bunted Martinez over to third. Skoglund got two strikes on Chris Bostick, but the infielder came up with the biggest hit of the game when he doubled in Martinez. Potomac added an insurance tally when Stephen Perez singled up the middle.

Aside from the eighth-frame issues, the other problem for Wilmington was that Potomac starter Phillips Valdez matched Skoglund pitch-for-pitch through six innings. In his Advanced-A debut, the 23-year-old yielded just three hits and one run in six frames of work. He gave way to reliever Derek Self in the seventh, and the right-hander picked up right where Valdez left off. Self allowed just one base runner in two innings pitched. Nick Lee relieved Self in the ninth inning, and shut the door on the Rocks to end the game.

Each team used an extra-base hit and a sacrifice fly to get on the board in the third. Ramon Torres tripled with one out in the top of the frame and came home on Mauricio Ramos' subsequent fly ball to left. Khayyan Norfork started the bottom of the inning with a double to left, and scored when Mesa lifted one to deep center two batters later.

The Blue Rocks are back in action on Saturday against the Carolina Mudcats. The Rocks and the Mudcats will play five games in four days, with Saturday's contest beginning at 6:00 p.m. Fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM. The Blue Rocks return home on Thursday, June 4 when they open up a four-game series against the Frederick Keys. For tickets, call 302-888-BLUE, or visit www.bluerocks.com.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Blue Rocks made a roster move prior to the game on Friday. Parker Morin was added to the active roster, as Cam Gallagher was placed on the disabled list. Gallagher was attempting to beat a throw to first base in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader, but was injured on his way. He would stay in the contest to run the bases the rest of the frame, but was replaced by Santiago Nessy in the field the next half inning. Morin spent the 2013 season with the Blue Rocks, when he hit .226 with a homer and 30 RBIs in 88 games. He split last year between Triple-A Omaha, Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Rookie-level Idaho Falls, and began this year in extended Spring Training.

Eric Skoglund was the tough-luck loser on Friday despite turning in his longest outing of the season, and the second-longest by any Blue Rock in 2015. The 14th-ranked prospect in the Royals system according to Baseball America worked eight innings, his team-best third start of seven or more frames this year. Jakob Junis has the longest outing by a Wilmington pitcher, working nine frames against Winston-Salem on May 19. Junis also did not get the win that night. Skoglund's scoreless streak came to a close in the outing as well. The southpaw entered Friday having posted 13 consecutive frames without allowing a run--a streak that stretched over his last two starts. He retired the first six batters he faced on Friday before yielding a score in the third.

As the old saying goes, turnabout is fair play. One night after the Wilmington Blue Rocks' offense was hurt badly by a pair of double plays, the Blue Crew used two twin-killings to its advantage on Friday. Skoglund induced them both, and now leads the Wilmington staff with eight double plays forced on the season. As a team, Wilmington pitching has produced 35 double plays in 2015, but the offense has hit into a league-high 49 twin killings on the campaign--13 more than the next-highest total in the eight-team loop.

In the top of the ninth inning, Robert Pehl entered the game as a pinch hitter for Santiago Nessy, and he singled through the left side against lefty Nick Lee. The Rocks have rarely employed pinch hitters this season, as Pehl's at-bat in the ninth was just the fourth pinch hit appearance for Wilmington this year. Pehl also became the only Blue Rock to have two pinch hit at-bats in 2015, and with the single, he now holds a 1-for-2 mark in such situations this year. Kenny Diekroeger produced a single in one pinch hit at-bat earlier this season, and Dexter Kjerstad produced the biggest pinch hit of the year, going deep in the top of the ninth inning on May 16 against Lynchburg to give the Rocks a 4-3 lead, and they would go on to win the game by that final as well.

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