CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Merrifield Delivers Rocks' First Win

Published on April 8, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Myrtle Beach, SC - Returnees from the 2011 season keyed the first win of the 2012 campaign as the Wilmington Blue Rocks (1-2) rode the backs of Whit Merrifield and Ryan Dennick to a 3-2 defeat of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (2-1) on Sunday evening. Merrifield's two-run single was the big blow in an opportunistic three-run fifth inning for the visitors. Meanwhile, Dennick (1-0) dispatched of an inherited second-and-third jam en route to 4.1 innings of one-run relief and his first victory of the season. Nick Rogers worked around an error with a hitless and scoreless ninth to log his first save.

Wilmington starter Yordano Ventura dominated in the first inning before command issues soured his debut. With one out in the second and the bases loaded, he got help from shortstop Alex McClure in turning a 6-3 double play on an Edwin Garcia grounder to end the inning. A pair of walks preceded an RBI double from Yefry Castillo for a 1-0 Myrtle Beach advantage in the fourth. That two-base hit meant the end of Ventura's day, but Dennick then got Garcia looking at a breaking ball to strand his two hand-me-down men. Ventura walked three, hit a batter and struck out just one over his 3.2 innings.

Pelicans starter Nick Tepesch was perfect his first time through the order. The Blue Rocks finally broke through when Merrifield ended a personal 0-for-9 slide with a first-pitch bunt single in the fourth.

Miscues marred the fifth for the Fightin' Feathers and opened the door for the Blue Crew. Three errors, all with two outs, led to the Rocks' three runs in the inning. Shortstop Odubel Herrera committed two of the mistakes with the third coming courtesy of left fielder Jared Hoying. Herrera's first malady allowed Geulin Beltre to score from third for a 1-1 deadlock. Merrifield's comeback single drove in Angel Franco and Luis Piterson for a 3-1 margin.

Garcia's two-out single sent Jake Skole plateward to make it a one-run game in the sixth. That would prove the only run against Dennick's line on the night as he retired the next seven men in a row to conclude his outing.

Piterson's fielding error allowed Castillo to get aboard leading off the ninth. Castillo then stole second, but Rogers succeeded in setting down the next three men in order to bolt down the win.

The Blue Rocks' six-game road trip shifts to the Carolina League's newest city, Zebulon, NC, with a three-game series against the Carolina Mudcats. Monday's opener is scheduled for a 7:15 p.m. first pitch. The Blue Rocks will toss Greg Billo, the Midwest League's 2011 ERA king, against repeating southpaw T.J. House. 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.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Despite allowing three runs in the loss, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the only team in minor league baseball that has yet to allow an earned run.

The two teams combined to go down 1-2-3 on eight total occasions. Myrtle Beach pitching was perfect in five frames and faced just one over the minimum outside of the Rocks' three-run fifth.

Through three games, the Blue Rocks have 16 total hits and a .167 team batting average. Only one of those 16 knocks has gone for extra bases.

Yordano Ventura, Ryan Dennick and Nick Rogers combined to notch 13 groundouts against four outs in the air.

The Carolina Mudcats are the Carolina League affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe's CL satellite shifted to Zebulon after 24 years in Kinston, NC.

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Carolina League Stories from April 8, 2012


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