CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks' Bid for Sweep Falls Short

Published on June 25, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks' late-inning magic ran out on Saturday night at Frawley Stadium. The Blue Crew's bid for a second-half opening sweep of the Lynchburg Hillcats fell short in a 6-0 setback. After scoring 14 runs over the first two contests of the three-game set, Wilmington managed just three hits on Saturday.

The Rocks lost despite a solid start from All-Star Jake Odorizzi. The right-hander allowed just a single score in six sterling innings, but the Wilmington offense was non-existent and his bullpen let the game get out of hand late.

Lynchburg scored its lone run against Odorizzi (5-3) courtesy of two doubles in the second inning. Adam Milligan opened the frame with a fly ball that carried just past the outstretched glove of Wilmington left fielder Whit Merrifield. He came home one out later when Joe Leonard lined a hanging curveball into the left-centerfield alley.

The Rocks, meanwhile, could not take advantage of two early opportunities against Lynchburg starter Aaron Shafer. Wilmington wasted a two-out double by Nick Francis in the first when it stranded runners at first and second. The Rocks loaded the bases with two away an inning later, but Carlo Testa grounded into a frame-ending fielder's choice.

Shafer (2-0) would cruise the rest of the way, allowing just three hits and working around four free passes over seven scoreless frames. He faced just one over the minimum during his final five innings on the mound.

The right-hander received some insurance in the seventh when the Hillcats put two more tallies on the board. Milligan opened the frame with a bloop-single to right off Wilmington reliever Edgar Garcia. He scored when Joey Terdoslavich followed with an RBI double. Barrett Kleinknecht made it a three-run Lynchburg lead with his one-out run-scoring single two batters later.

Ryan Dennick let it turn into a rout in the ninth. The left-hander came on and yielded three runs on four hits in the inning.

The Rocks open a brief three-game road trip in Frederick on Sunday at 6 p.m. The piggyback combination of Tyler Sample (5-4, 4.23) and Justin Marks (3-5, 4.91) hit the hill for Wilmington against Keys' All-Star Bobby Bundy (6-5, 3.28). Broadcast coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. when 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:

Nick Francis continued his offensive tear on Saturday. The reigning Carolina League Player of the Week doubled in the opening inning and reached later on a walk. Since returning from his brief stint in Double-A on June 6, Francis is hitting .414 (24-for-58) with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs and 11 RBIs.

Yem Prades returned to earth in the Wilmington loss. The outfielder, who had hit safely in 12 of his previous 14 games entering Saturday, went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. It marks the first time in five games Prades had not turned in a multi-hit performance.

After starting the season 5-0, Jake Odorizzi has now taken a loss in each of his last three starts. The right-hander got torched in his first setback of the year, allowing seven runs in only three innings pitched to Winston-Salem on June 12. But in his last two outings Odorizzi has surrendered just one earned run and has fanned 15 over 11.2 innings pitched.

The Blue Rocks' last home sweep of Lynchburg came from July 27-29, 2009. While Wilmington took 15 of their teams' 20 clashes that season, Lynchburg would get the last laugh. In their final year as a Pirates affiliate, the Hillcats went on to beat the Blue Crew in the Northern Division Championship Series en route to the Mills Cup title. Lynchburg has taken seven of the teams' 13 meetings so far in 2011.

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Carolina League Stories from June 25, 2011


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