CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Homer Twice, But Hillcats Offense Overpowers Wilmington in Loss

Published on July 13, 2015 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


LYNCHBURG, Va. - Despite a pair of long balls, Wilmington couldn't keep up with the Lynchburg offense on Monday night, falling in the series finale 8-4. The Blue Rocks dropped to 47-40 with the loss, while the Hillcats improved to 42-45. Jack Lopez and Santiago Nessy each produced solo homers, but Zach Lovvorn gave up seven runs (five earned) on the way to his first loss at the Advanced-A level.

The Rocks managed to take the lead two batters into the game. With one down and the bases empty in the top of the first, Lopez took Lynchburg starter Mitch Brown deep for a solo homer, Lopez's fifth of the year. Brown retired the next two men to face him, but Wilmington exited the frame with a 1-0 lead.

The Lynchburg offense came alive for three runs in the bottom of the second. Mike Papi doubled to lead off the frame, then was followed by Eric Haase who walked. LeVon Washington got the Hillcats on the scoreboard with a two-bagger of his own that scored Papi and got Haase to third. Yhoxian Medina continued the rally with a single, plating Haase and moving Washington to third, giving Lynchburg their first lead of the night in the process. The 'Cats got their final run of the frame when Ivan Castillo grounded into a fielder's choice, as the inning ended with Lynchburg on top 3-1.

Wilmington got a run back in the very next half frame. After Logan Moon walked and Dominique Taylor doubled to set up runners at second and third with nobody out, Carlos Garcia produced a ground out that chased Moon home. That would be all the Blue Crew would get in the frame, though, as the inning ended with the Hillcats in front 3-2.

Lynchburg came up with a quick response of their own in the bottom of the third. Lovvorn got the first two batters of the inning out, but then Papi reached on an error by Lopez with two down and nobody on. The next man up, Haase, doubled to bring Papi home, extending the Hillcats lead to 4-2. Lynchburg would tack on another tally when Washington legged out an infield single and Haase scored from second on the play.

With two runs in the top of the fifth, the Rocks got to within a single score. Santiago Nessy began the frame with a solo homer, his third of the year, cutting into the Hillcats lead at 5-3. Two batters later, Taylor produced another double, and was followed by a Garcia ground out which got Taylor to third base. Lopez would then drop down a bunt single that scored Taylor, making it 5-4 Lynchburg.

The Hillcats would score two more in the fifth inning thanks to a two-run double by Washington, and then one more in the seventh on a Medina RBI-single, capping the scoring at 8-4. After the Blue Rocks enjoy their only off-day of the month on Tuesday, Wilmington will return to Frawley Stadium on Wednesday when they host the Frederick Keys. The two teams will resume a suspended game before playing their regularly scheduled contest afterwards. The resumption of the suspended tilt begins at 5:05 p.m., and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

For whatever reason, the Blue Rocks can't seem to figure out the Lynchburg Hillcats. With the loss on Monday, Wilmington drops to 6-8 overall against the Hillcats this year, including a 2-5 mark on the road. Lynchburg is the only Northern Division team the Rocks hold a losing record against, and the biggest difference in the season series seems to be the pitching. Wilmington hurlers are getting torched to the tune of a 4.28 ERA against the Hillcats in 2015, compared to their overall ERA of 2.93. On the other side of the coin, Lynchburg pitchers hold a respectable 3.46 ERA against the Blue Crew this season, a number that holds up favorably against their 4.23 season mark.

With two errors on Monday, Wilmington snapped their streak of five straight contests without committing a defensive miscue. The last time Wilmington was guilty of an error was during their July 6 game at Potomac, which they won 2-1 in 10 innings. Monday also marked the first time Wilmington committed more than one error since July 2, a 3-2 win over the Hillcats at Frawley Stadium. The Rocks produced four defensive mistakes in that contest, their most in a single game this season. The pair of unearned runs the Blue Crew allowed on Monday brought their season total to 38, which is good for second fewest in the league behind only Myrtle Beach.

Jack Lopez and Santiago Nessy went deep in Monday's contest, continuing Wilmington's impressive power display in the second half. With two more long balls, the Rocks now have 11 homers since the All-Star break, after hitting just 26 in the entire first half of the season. The two homers on Monday also gave the Blue Crew four in the series against Lynchburg, including the pair hit by Cody Stubbs on Saturday. Stubbs became just the second Wilmington player with multiple homers in a game this season, with the first being Zane Evans. The Blue Rocks didn't exactly take full advantage of their power output during the four-game set, as all four home runs were solo shots.

Not only was the Wilmington offense powerful on Monday, it was also patient. The Rocks drew three walks against the Hillcats, with one apiece going to Robert Pehl, Logan Moon, and Nessy. For Moon, it was his team-leading 26th free pass of the season. Entering the day, Wilmington was dead last in the Carolina League in regards to walks drawn with 197, which was 19 behind the next closest team, Carolina. The Rocks became the last team in the circuit to reach 200 walks with their trio of free passes on Monday.

Monday proved to be a nice breakout for Dominique Taylor. The Wilmington outfielder produced a 2-for-4 day, including a pair of doubles and a run scored. Taylor entered the contest hitless in his last nine games played. His most recent knock came on June 29 against the Frederick Keys. That game was also the last time he collected an extra base hit. During his nine-game hitless streak, Taylor saw his average drop from .214 to below the Mendoza Line at .199.

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Carolina League Stories from July 13, 2015


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