CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

First Half Ends in Another Loss

Published on June 17, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - A seesaw game on the final day of the half saw the first half South Division Champion Winston-Salem Dash (44-25) edge out the Wilmington Blue Rocks (29-41) in ten innings on Sunday afternoon at Frawley Stadium by a 6-5 mark.

The tenth inning saw Winston-Salem take the game's final lead. Trayce Thompson started the frame with a walk against reliever Nick Rogers. Cyle Hankerd put the ball in play to Luis Piterson at second but he kicked the ball. Both runners stole a base before an intentional walk was issued to Mike Blanke to load the bases. Jake Oester grounded a ball to Piterson who fired home for one out. Juan Silverio skied a ball to right field that was caught by Hernandez for out number two. Hankerd sprinted home from third to score the go-ahead run on the sacrifice fly but not without some controversy. Some of the Blue Rocks, specifically Angel Franco at third thought Hankerd left the base early. Before Rogers could attempt the appeal, Oester ran towards second base. Rogers and Piterson caught him up in a rundown to get the third out of the inning, but it guaranteed the controversial run would count.

The Rocks went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to close out the first half.

Trailing 1-0 after a half inning, the Rocks answered right away with three runs in the bottom half. Brett Eibner gashed a double to right center field to score Franco and Whit Merrifield. A pair of wild pitches from Winston-Salem starter Jake Petricka scored Eibner for a 3-1 lead.

A fourth run came in the third inning. Merrifield got to first on a walk. After another wild pitch from Petricka, Jose Bonilla stroked a single to left center field for an RBI and 4-1 advantage.

The Dash made their comeback in the top of the fourth against Wilmington starter Chase Boruff. Dan Black reached on a single and then Thompson lined a home run down the left field line to make the Wilmington lead 4-3. A few batters later, Blanke stood on second base with two outs against Rocks reliever Sam Runion. Miguel Gonzalez rolled a ball through the right side to tie the ballgame.

The Dash finally seized the lead in the eighth. Hankerd rocked a single up the box against Runion with one out. He went on to steal second base. With two outs, Oester blooped a single to left to make it a 5-4 advantage for Winston-Salem.

In the bottom half, the Rocks had another answer. Roman Hernandez got on base with a one-out walk against reliever Ryan Buch. Piterson singled him to second. Franco then lofted a single to shallow left that plated Hernandez to tie the game at five apiece.

With Sunday's game in the books, the Carolina League's first half has come to a close. The Rocks next game comes after the All-Star Break on Thursday against the Carolina Mudcats in Zebulon, NC at 7:15 p.m. Broadcast coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. as studio host Rob Cunningham brings fans the Rocks Report Pre-game Show, presented by Wawa, on 89.7 WGLS-FM and online at wgls.rowan.edu. The Rocks return for their next homestand on June 28 when they take on the Lynchburg Hillcats at Frawley Stadium. For tickets, call 302-888-BLUE or visit bluerocks.com.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Wilmington took their 41st loss of the half on Sunday. It is the first time they have reached that mark since the second stanza of the disastrous 2005 season. That year's club dropped 41 games in the second half and finished the year with the worst record in franchise history at 60-80. The team record for most losses in the first half was tied as well. The 2000 squad lost 41 in their first half of the year.

With the loss, the Blue Rocks dropped to a season-worst 12 games under .500. They were never 12 games under .500 at any point last season.

Juan Graterol was the first Blue Rocks player to be ejected this season. It came in the bottom of the fourth inning when he struck out looking against Jake Petricka. Graterol argued with home plate umpire Jeremy Riggs before being tossed. It was the third straight day that someone was ejected by the umpiring crew. Tommy Thompson was heaved for arguing an overturned call on Friday and Vance Wilson was ejected on Saturday for the fourth time this season for arguing the strike zone. Both manager ejections were handled by umpire Lawrence Reeves.

It was the Rocks first extra-inning game of the season. The last time the Blue Rocks played an extra-inning contest was on August 27, 2011 at Salem. They lost 10-9 in 11 innings. The most recent time they played more than nine innings at Frawley Stadium came on July 13, 2011 against Frederick. They won 5-4 in 10 innings.

Chase Boruff made his first professional start on Sunday afternoon. He went 3.1 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits and one strikeout. His first 62 pro appearances have all came in relief.

Wilmington is assured of a non-winning record against the Dash both overall and at home this year. During their head-to-head meetings, Winston-Salem has outscored Wilmington 79-50. The Dash owns a .287 team batting average and 2.61 ERA while the Blue Crew has a slim .235 contact clip and a gaudy 5.18 ERA.

Winston-Salem has hit twice as many home runs (15) as any other CL squad (7) against Wilmington. Lynchburg, Myrtle Beach and Salem all own seven round-trippers against Wilmington pitching. Cyle Hankerd (4) and Dan Black (3) alone have equaled that.

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