CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Routed in Rubber Match, 8-2

Published on May 9, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Frederick, MD - Frederick starter Kenny Moreland (2-1) struck out 10 men over seven shutout innings and three Keys (18-12) home runs pounded the Blue Crew (11-19) in a Sunday rubber match, 8-2. Prospect first baseman Eric Hosmer had all of Wilmington's three hits and drove in the two runs with a ninth-inning double. His league-best batting average rose to .415. The Rocks, however, dropped their fourth straight series and fell to 0-4 in rubber matches on the year.

Moreland, a former Division III pitcher of the year out of Christopher Newport, faced one over the minimum in authoring the best start of his career. Hosmer reached against him on a two-out single in the first inning. Jamar Walton drew a one-out walk in the third, but would be picked off of first by catcher Luis Bernardo to end the inning. The only other man to reach against the non-drafted free agent signee was Hosmer again with a hit in the seventh. That came before Jamie Romak bounced into an around-the-horn double play to end the stanza. At one point, Moreland retired 14 straight Blue Rocks batters.

Wilmington starter Alex Caldera (1-2) hurled a quality start. Back-to-back hits by L.J. Hoes and Joe Mahoney got Frederick on the board in the fourth. Xavier Avery hit a wind-aided two-run homer off the second tier of the batters' eye in center to make it 3-0 in the fifth, his second homer of the series and season.

Caldera got some help to minimize damage thereafter that frame. Kyle Hudson singled and Hoes reached on a Romak error at third to put men at first and second. Mahoney then singled to right and Hudson, a speedster who posted more than 1,000 receiving yards as a football star at the University of Illinois, attempted to score from second. Right fielder Adrian Ortiz fired a one-hop throw to the plate to gun down Hudson for his third outfield assist of the weekend. It came with his mother, Myrna, in the seats on Mother's Day. She flew in from Puerto Rico last week to watch her son play.

The Keys put the game out of reach in the seventh. Caldera departed after six innings. He allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while whiffing four. James Thompson got strike one on Bernardo to begin the seventh, but his second pitch was yanked out of the yard to left-center for the backstop's first home run and RBI of the season.

After striking out Avery, Thompson loaded the bases on consecutive hit batters and a walk. A passed ball allowed each man to advance, including Hudson scoring from third, before Billy Rowell hit another wind-aided jack to the third tier of the batters' eye for an 8-0 deficit. Thompson struck out back-to-back men thereafter to end the inning.

Barry Bowden whiffed two in working around an infield hit and an error in a scoreless eighth, but the Blue Rocks' offense remained dormant until the ninth.

Southpaw reliever Brett Bordes struck out the side for Frederick in a perfect eighth and John Mariotti took his place in the final frame. Ben Theriot and Fernando Garcia drew back-to-back walks at the start. Ortiz bounced into a force at second to place men at the corners and Patrick Norris flied out to center. Hosmer followed with a lined double over the leap of right fielder Jacob Julius to avoid a second shutout defeat on the weekend.

The Blue Rocks return home for a four-game series and homestand against the Lynchburg Hillcats. It will mark the first meeting between the Blue Crew and the Hillkitties since Lynchburg switched affiliations to the Cincinnati Reds last off-season. The Hillcats feature former University of Delaware infielder Alex Buchholz. The series starts on Monday night at 6:35 p.m. Wilmington right-hander Jairo Cuevas (2-3, 8.06) will face southpaw Matt Fairel (3-0, 3.48).

The game will include a tribute to "The Boss", Bruce Springsteen. It is also West Chester night at the park and, as always, Mega Deal Monday games feature free Baseball Bingo and a special ticket package. Fans can purchase four reserved tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for just $40. The offer is only valid through purchase at the Blue Rocks ticket windows or by calling 302-888-BLUE (2583).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Jamie Romak went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a groundball double play. The Ontario native is in a 4-for-42 (.095) funk including seven strikeouts. His batting average has dipped 65 points in that time (.265-.200).

Eddie Prasch and Fernando Garcia are also going through some tough times. After composing an eight-game hitting streak to begin his Blue Rocks career, Prasch has suffered through an 0-for-18 slump with six strikeouts over his last six games. He was 0-for-3 with a whiff on Sunday. Garcia remains hitless in 21 straight at-bats. He walked but also struck out twice to go 0-for-2.

Without Eric Hosmer's three-hit performance, the rest of the team went a combined 0-for-24 at the plate.

Hosmer has a team-best 20 RBIs and a team-high nine doubles on the season.

Despite the 10 combined runs on the final scoreboard, the game took just two hours and 12 minutes to complete.

The Blue Rocks struck out 13 times on the day. It marks just the second time all season the squad has whiffed double-digit times in a single game.

Wilmington has lost eight of its last nine and 10 of its last 12 overall. It sits a season-worst-tying eight games below .500 and trails first-place Frederick by 7.0 games in the Northern Division standings. The Blue Rocks will attempt to snap a six-game home losing skid on Monday night. The team record for consecutive home setbacks is eight, set in 1999.

The game was played nearly one year to the day of a similar circumstance. On May 10, 2009, the Keys and Blue Rocks played a Sunday afternoon series finale at Harry Grove Stadium, also on a windy day. The gusts that day saw six home runs leave the yard, including five for Frederick. A more back-and-forth affair saw the Keys win it by six, 15-9.

Alex Caldera has pitched into the sixth inning in four straight starts.

The Blue Rocks are 2-6-1 through their first nine series.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from May 9, 2010


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