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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Late Wilmington Rally Spoiled by Walk-Off Double

August 16, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Frederick, MD - Justin Dalles' two-out double in the bottom of the ninth gave the Frederick Keys a 4-3 walk-off win at Harry Grove Stadium on Tuesday night. It was the Rocks' sixth walk-off loss of the season, half of which have come at the expense of their closest geographic rival in the Carolina League.

Ryan Dennick (2-6) seemed to start the ninth off well enough. In his third inning of relief the Wilmington left-hander got the first two Keys of the frame with ease, but Michael Flacco sent a blooper into shallow right that fell just in front of a sliding Carlo Testa. That set the stage for Dalles, who crushed a line drive into the left-field corner. Tim Fergusonstruggled to corral it off the wall and Michael Liberto's subsequent relay throw was just barely beaten by Flacco to the plate for the game-winning run.

The late loss spoiled a valiant comeback bid by the Blue Crew.

Frederick got out to an early lead thanks to Flacco. The younger brother of former University of Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco, sent a solo bomb well beyond the left-field fence in the second inning that put the Keys in front, 1-0.

Wilmington starter Elisaul Pimentel surrendered two more scores in the fifth. The right-hander yielded an infield single to Michael Rooney to get the inning started. After Kyle Moore sacrificed Rooney into scoring position, Pimentel fanned Steve Bumbry for the inning's second out. He could not end the inning by retiring Dale Mollenhauer however, as the third baseman sent a soft liner to center for an RBI single. Manny Machado followed by sending a line drive into the left-field corner that scored Mollenhauer to make it, 3-0. Machado was thrown out trying for a triple.

The Rocks rally began with two outs and nobody on in the sixth. Testa got it started with a pull-shot solo bomb to right that cut the deficit to 3-1. The Rocks then used three doubles to pull even in the seventh.

Ryan Stovall opened the frame with a hustle double to left off Frederick starter Jacob Pettit. Yem Prades followed by pulling a sharp-liner into the left-field corner for a run-scoring two-bag knock. That was it for Pettit who was pulled in favor of Kenny Moreland. The reliever came close to escaping the inning with Frederick's lead in tact when he got Jose Bonilla to ground out to short. But Liberto came through with his first hit in a Blue Rocks uniform. The shortstop sent a line drive double to right-center that plated Prades and tied the game.

The Blue Rocks look to avoid getting swept when they visit the Keys again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Tyler Sample (7-10, 5.48) hits the hill for Wilmington against right-hander Scott Copeland (2-0, 0.00). Broadcast coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. as studio host Adam Dobrowolski 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:

Whit Merrifield got yet another start at second base. It was his 13th start at the position in his last 14 contests, and his 24th of the season in 109 games played. Merrifield also saw his struggles at the plate against the Keys continue. The utility man went 0-for-4 with a strikeout on Tuesday. He is batting just .167 (11-for-66) on the season versus Frederick.

Yem Prades went 1-for-4 in the setback. The outfielder extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI double in the seventh. Prades has batted .308 (12-for-39) during the streak, which is now his longest of the season.

John Whittleman drew his league-leading 71st walk of the season on Tuesday. It is the most free passes drawn by a Blue Rock since Josh Johnson worked 85 walks with Wilmington in 2008. No Blue Crewer was issued more than 44 free passes in 2010.

Wilmington's futility in Frederick continued on Tuesday. The Rocks have dropped eight of their nine contests at Harry Grove Stadium in 2011, getting outscored 28-12 in the losses.

The Rocks have not won a series on the road in the second half. Wilmington has dropped eight sets away from Frawley Stadium since the All-Star break and have one other pending thanks to a suspended game in Salem from July 8.

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