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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Offense Comes up Short in 5-2 Loss

May 20, 2022 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Looking to bounce back from a 5-4 loss to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws on Thursday, May 19, the Wilmington Blue Rocks were back in action on Friday, May 20, for the fourth game of the series.

The result was not what Wilmington anticipated, with the BlueClaws handing the Blue Rocks their second consecutive loss to even up the series at two games apiece.

This game did not get off on the right foot for the Blue Rocks. The BlueClaws got out to an early 2-0 lead following the top of the first inning, thanks in large part to Ethan Wilson. Wilson's RBI triple, his 8th RBI of the year, scored Nick Matera after he reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on Darren Baker's throwing error. Then, Wilson made a nice heads up play, scoring on a wild pitch from Blue Rocks starter Tim Cate.

Wilmington sliced the deficit in half in the bottom of the first, with a solo shot hit by Ricardo Mendez, his first of the season, cutting the BlueClaws' lead to 2-1.

Cate cruised through the second and third innings, then the BlueClaws struck again in the top of the fourth. Wilson tallied another extra base hit on a double to left, then Casey Martin drove him in with an RBI triple to make it 3-1. Carlos De La Cruz got in on the fun, as well, with an RBI single immediately after to bring home Martin and extend the lead to 4-1.

It was then quiet up until the bottom of the sixth, when the Blue Rocks cut the deficit in half once again thanks to an RBI groundout by Kevin Strohschein. Wilmington could not stay consistent, however, with an Omar Meregildo fielding error proving costly, allowing Matera to score his second run of the night and make it a 5-2 ballgame, which ended up being the final score.

BlueClaws starter Mick Abel, a top prospect in the Phillies organization, went five innings, allowing four hits and one earned run. For the Blue Rocks, Cate couldn't go the distance, pitching four innings while allowing six hits and four earned runs. Both the Blue Rocks and the BlueClaws' used three relief pitchers, with all of them shutting the door and not allowing a single earned run.

With the series now evened up, the Blue Rocks will be fighting for the series win to round out the weekend. They will look to conquer the first step of achieving that goal on Saturday, May 21, the fifth game of the series.

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