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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Let Late Lead Slip Away in Lynchburg

August 15, 2013 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Lynchburg, VA -The Wilmington Blue Rocks were one out away from escaping the seventh inning with their three-run lead intact and seven outs shy of extending their winning streak to four games. Then the bottom fell out, as the Lynchburg Hillcats had five straight men reach base, culminating in a three-run double by Trent Moses that lifted the Hillcats to a 9-6 win on Thursday at City Stadium. The loss drops Wilmington one-half game behind Lynchburg in the chase for a Carolina League North wildcard berth.

The Hillcats seemed to be going nowhere fast in the seventh frame. With Wilmington on top 6-3, Rocks reliever Cory Hall had two outs with Matt Lipka at third base. Kyle Kubitza sent a soft liner into right that scored Lipka and cut the Lynchburg deficit to two, but the Blue Crew still seemed to be in control. That feeling did not last long however. David Rohm doubled and then Josh Elander walked, which was all for Hall. Vance Wilson went to his bullpen and inserted righty Kellen Moen. He was greeted with a liner right back at him on his first pitch. The ball caromed off Moen's glove between the mound and second base, resulting in an infield single that pulled the Hillcats to within one run. Trent Moses completed the comeback with a bases-clearing double over the head of Yem Prades in right that gave Lynchburg the lead for good.

The five-run seventh wasted an earlier rally by the Rocks. Trailing 2-0 after the first, Wilmington stormed back with five runs over the next two innings. Parker Morin's RBI grounder to second got the Blue Crew on the board while Ethan Chapman's run-scoring single tied the game. Wilmington went in front when it opened the third frame with five straight hits. Jack Lopez singled, Justin Trapp doubled and both scored on Prades' sinking liner to left-center. He too would eventually score on Morin's sacrifice fly to center.

But the Blue Crew would manage just one more run the rest of the way, as four Lynchburg pitchers combined to shut them down. Ryan Weber (6-4) worked a scoreless seventh to pick up the win, while John Cornely struck out the side in the ninth to nail down his sixth save.

The Rocks continue their three-game set in Lynchburg on Friday as right-hander Leonel Santiago (3-2, 3.74) makes the start for Wilmington against fellow righty Williams Perez (5-1, 1.89) for the Hillcats. First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. from City Stadium, and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM. The Blue Rocks return to the Riverfront on Saturday when the Potomac Nationals come to town. For ticket information, fans can call 302-888-BLUE or visit BlueRocks.com

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

The Wilmington bullpen had its impressive scoreless streak halted on Thursday. Rocks relievers had gone 19.1 straight frames without yielding a run entering the contest and Cory Hall added another 1.2 innings before yielding a tally in the seventh inning. The Hillcats would go on to add five more scores against the combination of Hall and Kellen Moen. Hall walked two more batters in his 1.2 frames, and has now issued 19 free passes as opposed to only 13 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched. On the season Rocks relievers have posted a collective 3.29 earned run average.

Tripp Davis made his Advanced-A debut on Thursday and turned in the longest outing of his brief professional career. The left-hander, who just joined Wilmington on Wednesday, got off to shaky start, yielding a pair of first-inning runs. He settled in nicely however, allowing only a single score over his final four frames on the mound. Davis was signed by the Royals as an undrafted free agent from NJIT in June and had made 11 appearances with Kansas City Arizona Summer League team. He had not lasted longer than 4.1 frames in any of those contests. He has a good pitching pedigree as his father Mark won the Cy Young Award in 1989.

The Rocks got a productive night from nine-hole hitter Ethan Chapman. The centerfielder went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. It was Chapman's second straight game with an RBI and his fourth consecutive contest with a hit. Over his last seven games Chapman is 10-for-33 with five RBIs six runs scored and a stolen base. He continues to find more success on the road, where he is batting .264 as opposed to at Frawley Stadium, where he is hitting only .209.

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