CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Offense Surges Late to Stun Wood Ducks

Published on May 7, 2017 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Kinston, N.C. - The Wilmington Blue Rocks (12-18) offense continued their scorching trend down south. The offensive unit struck for seven unanswered runs in the final two innings to stun the Down East Wood Ducks (13-18) 10-4 in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Grainger Stadium. The Blue Crew used their largest outburst in an inning this season and scored six runs in the ninth to break a 4-4 tie. Cody Jones, Wander Franco, Anderson Miller and Chase Vallot each homered in the victory while eight of nine Blue Rocks collected a hit.

Tied at four runs apiece heading to the final inning, Wilmington's offense exploded, sent 11 men to the plate and touched home plate six times. D.J. Burt delivered the go-ahead RBI double to push the Rocks past the Wood Ducks 5-4. Miller continued to swing a hot bat and punched an RBI single to pad the lead 6-4 before Vallot smacked a grand slam to highlight the six-run outburst and put the Rocks up 10-4.

Trailing 4-3 in the eighth inning, Miller smashed his fourth homer of the season to tie the game at 4-4. It was his second home run in his last three games and he extended his impressive on-base streak to 22 games in the win. In the second inning, the Rocks scored first on a home run from Jones to take an early 1-0 advantage. Miller tacked on the second run of the game in the third inning with an RBI single to jump out to a 2-0 lead before Down East rallied back.

The Wood Ducks took the lead in the bottom of the third inning on a three-run double off the bat of Chuck Moorman to give Down East a 3-2 lead. In the fourth, Carlos Arroyo extended the Down East lead to 4-2 with an RBI single. In the fifth, Franco clubbed his first homer of the season to bring the Blue Crew within a run before the Rocks tied the game in the eighth and took the eventual lead in the ninth inning.

The Blue Rocks return to Frawley stadium to open a seven-game, six-day homestand starting with their Northern Division foes, the Potomac Nationals, on Tuesday, May 9. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. and the Rocks will send LHP Foster Griffin (2-2, 3.77 ERA) to the hill. Fans can listen to the game as Matt Janus and Cory Nidoh will have the call on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

Pebbles of Knowledge

Anderson Miller pushed his on-base streak to 22 games which extends a new career-high. His previous watermark was a 16-gamer set a year ago in Low-A Lexington. Miller has strung together four multi-hit efforts in his last five games and is hitting .421 with 10 RBI during his eight-game hitting streak. His on-base streak marks the longest on-base streak for a Blue Rock hitter since John Whittleman reached in 23 straight games back in 2011. Roman Collins and D.J. Burt both set an early 13-game on-base streak in the opening month of the season, but both had their streaks snapped in the same game back on April 20 against Winston-Salem.

The Rocks showcased their long ball power in the four-game series in Kinston, N.C. With the four homers in Sunday's win, it marked the most home runs hit in a single game this season for Wilmington. In addition, the Blue Crew swatted nine home runs in the series, including three from Chase Vallot. Vallot homered in back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday before crushing the first grand slam by a Blue Rock hitter since Brandon Downes hit one back on August 16, 2016. Along with Vallot, Cody Jones hit his first home run on Sunday since April 26, 2016, a span of 116 games. Wander Franco also struck for his first homer of the year and first long ball since August 28, 2016. Miller smacked his fourth homer of the year after leaving the yard on Friday night.

In the series, the Rocks offense totaled 32 runs on 50 hits in the four-game set. It was the sixth game in their last seven that Wilmington tallied double-digit hits. The Blue Rocks outscored the Wood Ducks 32-16 while the offense hit to the tune of .321 with five doubles, a triple and nine home runs.

With the series win, it marks the first time the Rocks have taken a series since April 13-16 when they took three of four games at Potomac. In their previous four series, the Rocks were swept twice by Salem and Myrtle Beach, split a four-game set with Winston-Salem and lost a series to Buies Creek. Wilmington has won back-to-back games for the first time since April 15-16.

They Said It: Jamie Quirk

"We needed this. We had a combination of one blowout, the rest were tight games. We won a couple of them. On Sunday going into the top of the ninth tied, we put a six spot out there, it was just good solid baseball. The pitching continued to do its thing. (Cristian) Castillo wasn't great, but he wasn't bad and he hung in there and kept the game where it was. Then the bullpen did the job like they've been doing. They kept (Down East) from getting any late runs. I talk about those late runs adding on and it's tough to catch up. (Richard) Lovelady and (Jake Kalish) did their thing and kept it right there, let the offense catch up and we did."

"I hope so. (On momentum carrying with number of home runs hit in series). It's a hitter's park and they felt really good here (at Down East). The first day we were here and hitting on the field they could tell it's a hitter's park. Playing at our place, they relish that and took advantage of it. They got some balls in the air and I like to say a home run is a result of a good swing. We had a lot of good swings and some of them went out of the ballpark. We are going back home now which is a different ballpark, but it allowed the hitters to get some confidence and we'll go from there."

"That's the way your three, four, five and six guys are your RBI guys and they have been getting the RBIs. That's how it's supposed to go. Chase (Vallot) with the grand slam, (Anderson) Miller with the big home run and big base hit. When you are hitting in that four-hole you are going to get guys on base. You aren't always going to be successful, but when you are you usually win."

"You worry about it (on team getting negative after not getting rewarded because of tough one-run losses). I think we talked more about it in the coaches' room than the players do. I never have really heard them talk about it. You can look at it a positive or a negative. We have had 16 one-run games and have come out on the short end in a lot of them, but we were right there. So eventually, the baseball gods will help you and the tides will change and it's starting to change a little bit right now."

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Carolina League Stories from May 7, 2017


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