Sports stats



CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Hicklen's Sac Fly Gets Wilmington Walk-Off Win

May 26, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks let a three-run lead slip away in the eighth inning on Sunday, but still walked off a winner, beating the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6-5 at Frawley Stadium. Brewer Hicklen's sacrifice fly sent the fans home happy in the ninth as the Rocks improved to 31-19 on the year- the highest they have been above .500 in 2019.

Wilmington got a little help on its way to victory. With one out and the bases empty in the bottom of the ninth, Rudy Martin hit a comebacker to the mound that Pelicans pitcher Manuel Rodriguez threw away, allowing Martin to race all the way to third base. Hicklen wasted little time donning the hero's robe, lifting a sacrifice fly to right that won the game.

It was quite a bounce back for the Blue Crew, who had watched a 5-2 advantage evaporate the previous frame. Colin Snider started the inning on the mound for Wilmington, but allowed two runs and had a man at second base when he was pulled in favor of Tad Ratliff. Aramis Ademan immediately greeted the righty with an RBI single that tied the game. Ratliff redeemed himself in the top of the ninth, however, inducing a double play that got him out of a bases-loaded jam.

The Rocks got more hits over the first five innings on Sunday than they did in the opening two games of the series combined (eight-to-six). Wilmington's offense jumped on the board right away, Hicklen opened the afternoon with a single, stole second, went to third on Nick Pratto's single and came home on a sacrifice fly from Dennicher Carrasco.

After Myrtle Beach took a 2-1 lead in the second inning, Wilmington responded with four runs in the fifth. Ricky Aracena set the tone with a single to right and scored on Hicklen's triple to center. Cristian Perez then singled home Hicklen and Pratto finished off the crooked number with his two-run bomb to right.

Kris Bubic was in line to get the win in his Advanced-A debut. The righty got three strikeouts in his first inning as a Blue Rock and held the Pelicans to just two runs on two hits, but four walks in five frames.

The Blue Crew wrap up their homestand with a Memorial Day matinee against the Pelicans at 12:05 p.m. on Monday. Brady Singer takes the mound for Wilmington. Fans can get tickets at BlueRocks.com or catch all the action with the Voice of the Blue Rocks, Cory Nidoh on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Rocks have enjoyed great success in daylight this season. Wilmington improved to 8-1 in day games this season, with five of the victories featuring comebacks.

Wilmington has excelled in close contests this season. The Blue Crew lead the Carolina League with 22 games decided by a single score in 2019 and have played 32 affairs with a margin of victory of two-or-less. The Rocks are an impressive 24-8 in those close calls including 18-4 in one-run decisions. They are also stellar at holding late leads, going 18-1 when taking an advantage into the eighth inning and 19-0 when leading after eight- granted they took a circuitous route to continuing that trend on Sunday.

Wilmington went almost 11 months between walk-off wins from last May until April 9 of this year. But the Blue Crew are making up for lost time with three already in 2019 (against the Dash, Keys and Pelicans) and two in the last two weeks alone.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics



Carolina League Stories from May 26, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Wilmington Blue Rocks Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central