CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Late Rally Pushes Mudcats Past Blue Rocks

Published on April 11, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Zebulon, NC - On a cold and windy Wednesday night, two-out hits in the eighth snapped a late deadlock as the Wilmington Blue Rocks (2-4) dropped a rubber match to the Carolina Mudcats (4-2), 5-3. Prospect catcher Jake Lowery's single drove pinch runner Justin Toole home from second for what proved to be the game-winning run. Four Mudcats pitchers combined to hold Wilmington to just three hits on the night.

Blue Rocks starter Tyler Sample allowed three runs in the opening inning for an early hole. Jeremie Tice singled in a pair of runs and later scored from first when Lowery followed with a double to right. Sample settled from then on. The right-hander struck out five and walked just two over his five frames. He gave up a leadoff single to Jesus Aguilar in the third, but faced the minimum thereafter with the lone baserunner reaching on an error.

Carolina starter Clayton Cook retired the first 12 he faced. The only Blue Rock that reached against him through the first five frames, Brian Fletcher, did so on a strikeout and wild pitch combination in the fifth. An inning later, the Blue Crew batted around and tied it up. Kenny Swab got aboard to start the sixth on a Tony Walters error. Tuesday night's hero Luis Piterson followed with a first-pitch single up the middle and Whit Merrifield promptly loaded the bases on a sacrifice and errant throw by Jeremie Tice.

Angel Franco drew the Rocks within a score with a two-run single and Kevin David launched a sacrifice fly to left that tied the game, 3-3. Cook walked Fletcher and got Roman Hernandez to line out to left before getting the hook. His successor, sidearmer Dale Dickerson, walked Geulin Beltre to load the bases for the Rocks' ninth hitter of the inning, Jake Kuebler. The owner of the team's best batting average at the start of the day, Kuebler hit a liner to shortstop Ronny Rodriguez that ended the inning with a deadlock still on the board.

Thomas Melgarejo hurled 2.1 perfect innings behind Sample before leaving with the bases clear and one out in the eighth. Chase Boruff (0-2) entered with temperatures in the low 40s and lost his grip, hitting the first batter he faced, Giovanny Urshela. That snapped a string of 11 straight Mudcats retired. Aguilar worked a walk and Mudcats skipper Edwin Rodriguez brought Toole in to run for Urshela at second. Boruff popped up Tice for the inning's second out, but could not best the next two hitters. Lowery singled home Toole and Carlos Moncrief added insurance with an RBI double. Lowery attempted to score from first on the same play, but was cut down on a relay from Merrifield in center and Piterson at second to David at the dish.

Kuebler walked with one out in the ninth against Jose Flores to allow the tying run to bat twice. However, Flores got Swab to ground out and Piterson to fly out to end the game. Flores bolted down the Mudcats' first save of the season. Fellow reliever Francisco Jimenez (1-0) got the win with a perfect eighth.

With their season-opening road trip in the books, the Blue Rocks have a scheduled day of rest on Thursday before opening their home schedule at 7:05 p.m. on Friday night. The defending Mills Cup champion Frederick Keys come to town for a three-game set. Wilmington right-hander Jason Adam (0-0, 1.80) gets the nod against righty Scott Copeland (1-0, 0.00). Broadcast coverage begins at 6:35 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.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Frederick will come to town with Mike Flacco on the active roster. The infielder is the brother of former University of Delaware star quarterback and current Baltimore Raven, Joe Flacco.

Chase Boruff suffered his second loss in his second outing of 2012. Last year the right-hander lost a single game in 41 appearances with Low-A Kane County. His lone loss came in his sixth outing on April 28 at Burlington. None of the three runs he allowed that night were earned.

Of the Blue Rocks' three runs scored, only one was earned on Carolina starter Clayton Cook. As a result, of the Blue Crew's league-low 10 runs scored to start the season, only four of the tallies have been earned on opposing pitching.

Wilmington's team batting average dipped to a league-low .155 after a collective 3-for-29 (.103) effort on Wednesday night. All three of the hits were singles. Through five games, the Blue Rocks rank last in the loop with a .177 slugging percentage. The next-lowest number belongs to Potomac at .311. Only four of the Rocks' 28 hits have gone for extra bases, all of them doubles.

The Blue Rocks have sent four or fewer hitters to the plate in 44 of their last 51 innings.

On the road trip, Wilmington was bested in the hits department 51-28 and outscored 23-10.

The game time temperature was 52 degrees with winds gusting at up to 15 mph. The air temperature alone dipped into the low 40s before the game's conclusion.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from April 11, 2012


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