CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Francis Slams, Drives in Six

Published on July 25, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Kinston, NC - Nick Francis drove in six runs on two homers including the first Blue Rocks grand slam of the season in a 10-4 rout of the Kinston Indians (48-50, 12-16) on Sunday afternoon. Team game No. 100 saw the Blue Crew (50-50, 18-12) get back to .500 on the season.

The contest included fierce heat that factored into a unique a 10-minute delay. Home plate umpire Steve Sanders, a local college arbiter who was filling in for the recently promoted Chris Graham, had to depart the game due to health issues related to harsh heat. The heat index topped out at 114 degrees according to the National Weather Service. The Blue Rocks logged a 3-4 road trip, but won the last two to split the four-game series against the K-Tribe.

Wilmington led from start to finish, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a Wil Myers RBI single to left. In the fourth, Francis hit his first dinger. A two-out, two-strike, two-run bomb just left of center off starter Joe Gardner (8-5). Wilmington starter Buddy Baumann did not need much in the way of run support. While he only lasted four innings, he did not allow a run and struck out seven including four straight from the end of the second through the third.

Rene Oriental blasted his first Carolina League home run in the fifth, a two-run shot down the left-field line. Adam Frost doubled and two walks later, Gardner got the hook. Reliever Travis Turek walked in a run with a free pass to Myers, but induced a 5-2-3 double play off the bat of Ernesto Mejia and struck out Francis to end the inning.

Reliever Harold Mozingo allowed leadoff homers to Chun Chen and Nate Recknagel in the sixth and seventh respectively that put Kinston on the board. In the interim, however, Francis greeted reliever Tyler Sturdevant with his salami to right-center off the line scoreboard.

Mozingo (3-1) allowed just those two runs over three innings. He gave up five hits, no walks and struck out three. Kevin Chapman allowed a pair of runs over the final two frames. Each tally came on a two-out extra-base hit in the ninth.

The game saw a 10-minute delay before the start of the eighth when Sanders started to cramp and feel dizzy. After treatment and evaluation from both teams' athletic trainers, Sanders removed himself from the game. Base umpire Jay Pierce shifted behind the plate and worked the final two frames solo.

With its final road trip to Myrtle Beach and Kinston complete, the Blue Crew returns home on Monday for the first of three against the Potomac Nationals. First pitch at Frawley Stadium on Monday is set for 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6 p.m. It will be "80s Night" at the park. As always, a Mega Deal Monday offer means fans can purchase four reserved tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for just $40. Offer valid only by purchase at Blue Rocks ticket windows or by calling 302-888-BLUE. All Monday games also allow fans to play Baseball Bingo free of charge.

In the opener, prized prospect John Lamb (6-2, 1.40) will oppose fellow southpaw Danny Rosenbaum (1-0, 1.80), a former Xavier star who ranks as the Nationals' 30th-best prospect according to Baseball America.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Blue Rocks concluded their regular-season schedule at Kinston with a 5-5 record.

In Winston-Salem, NC, the Potomac Nationals crushed the Dash, 13-3. Potomac stands tied with the Blue Rocks in the loss column, just 1.0 game back overall. The division rivals meet for the first of three at Frawley Stadium on Monday in their penultimate head-to-head series of the year.

Joe Gardner, a sinker specialist, entered the game having allowed just four home runs over 104.0 IP between Low-A and Advanced-A baseball. He gave up six runs on seven hits including two homers over four innings plus five batters.

Nick Francis became just the third Blue Rock to homer twice in a game this season. Eric Hosmer turned the trick at Potomac on the Fourth of July and Adam Frost called his own shots at Lynchburg four days later.

Five of Francis' six homers this season have been hit this month. He has hit .301 on the month with 19 RBIs in 19 games and an OPS of .906.

His six RBIs fall just one short of the franchise record, last recorded by Johnny Giavotella coincidentally enough at Kinston on April 13 last season. The now Double-A second baseman also homered twice and hit a grand slam that Monday night.

Patrick Norris singled, walked twice, scored twice and stole two bases in the win. The leadoff man and center fielder also took a fastball to the small of his back one day after being hit with a pitch on his elbow. His steals pulled him even with the temporarily inactive Adrian Ortiz for the team lead at 22.

Wil Myers singled, drove in two and walked twice. In 22 games since his promotion, the Carolina League's youngest player has hit .342 with 16 RBIs.

Rene Oriental has hit just .185 (5-for-27) through seven games. But three of his five hits have gone for extra bases and he has driven in four runs.

The road trip included some rather rare feats. In Monday's opener at Myrtle Beach, a wayward kitten sprinted out to center field and got Norris 15 minutes of fame on ESPN's SportsCenter's "Not Top Plays". The next night, the Blue Rocks suffered a balk-off defeat and subsequently filed a formal protest with the Carolina League. It marked the first of three straight nights the team would blow a 3-0 lead and lose. Position player Adam Frost pitched and hit 91 mph on the in-house radar gun during the third such meltdown at Kinston on Thursday when the bullpen walked in five runs and the team issued a season-high 12 free passes in total. Friday night's game endured a more than one-hour rain delay only to be suspended. The next night, the Rocks dropped the conclusion of that contest and appeared to be on the ropes in the scheduled nightcap. Starter Bryan Paukovits loaded the bases with nobody out before inducing a pop fly to second baseman Fernando Garcia. As Garcia camped underneath the ball, the power went out to Grainger Stadium. Somehow, he still made the catch in total darkness. After a 19-minute delay, the game resumed with the lights on and Paukovits struck out back-to-back men to end the inning on his way to a shutout win, the team's league-leading ninth of the year and sixth of the month. All of the games were played in sweltering heat with the heat index over 100 every night. Sunday, some might have thought they were hallucinating as Santa Claus worked his way around Grainger Stadium and led the crowd in the YMCA dance. But no, that indeed was Jolly Ol' Saint Nick in nearly full regalia despite the oppressive temperature and humidity as the K-Tribe celebrated "Christmas In July".

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Carolina League Stories from July 25, 2010


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