CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Sweep Away K-Tribe

Published on July 31, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks had to go deep into their closet to find the broom on Sunday. It had been more than two months since the Rocks had earned a series sweep, but their 5-2 victory over the Kinston Indians at Frawley Stadium ended that streak. The game was the last ever between the two franchises, with the K-Tribe set to move to Zebulon, NC next season.

Noel Arguelles turned in the third straight outstanding outing from a Wilmington starter. The southpaw overcame a shaky start that saw him allow a pair of second-inning runs, to mow the K-Tribe down.

In his first appearance since coming two outs shy of a seven-inning no-hitter earlier in the week, Arguelles let a 1-0 lead slip away in the second inning. His throwing-error on Justin Toole's bunt-single allowed the first run to score. Jordan Casas scored the other with a single that went off of a sliding Gerard Hall at shortstop. Hall did not lose his concentration however, and avoided further damage by quickly retrieving the ball and gunning down Toole at the plate on the same play.

That would be the last threat of the day against Arguelles (4-4) and the last hit for Kinston until the ninth inning. The Cuban defector retired the final 12 batters he faced, giving his offense an opportunity to retake the lead.

Wilmington grabbed that chance in the bottom of the second when Hall came through with another big play. Yem Prades and Tim Ferguson each poked one-out singles to left, and Hall came to the plate one batter later with two down and runners at first and second. The Wilmington shortstop sliced a liner into the left-field corner for a double that plated a pair and put the Rocks in front, 3-2.

Kinston put together a threat against the Wilmington bullpen in the eighth. Despite not getting a hit in the inning, the K-Tribe put two men on when reliever Ryan Dennick issued a walk and hit a batter. Jesus Aguilar seemed poised to tie the game when he sent a sinking liner toward left-center field. But Prades got a great jump on the ball from center and made a diving grab in the alley.

The Rocks then put the game away in the next half frame. After Kinston starter Brett Brach (6-8) retired 14 of the final 15 batters he faced, Wilmington went to work against K-Tribe closer Preston Guilmet. In a non-save situation the right-hander was lit up for two runs on three hits in the inning. The Blue Crew got both of its tallies on an infield single by Prades that scored John Whittleman from third and a hustling Ryan Stovall all the way from second.

Jonathan Keck entered in the ninth and pitched around an inning-opening double to nail down his first Advanced-A save.

Wilmington gets Monday off before embarking on a six-game, two-city road trip on Tuesday in Winston-Salem. Tyler Sample (6-8, 5.42) hits the hill for the Rocks in the 7:05 p.m. series-opener against Dash right-hander Jake Patricka (2-4, 4.66). Broadcast coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. as 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:

For the third straight day Whit Merrifield wasted little time extending the longest active hitting streak in the Carolina League. Merrifield singled in the opening inning, making it knocks in 13 straight games. The centerfielder went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk on Sunday and is hitting .308 (16-for-52) during the streak. The 13-gamer ties Nick Francis for the longest streak by a Blue Rock in 2011. Francis hit safely in 13 consecutive contests from April 15-29.

John Whittleman is now officially out of his recent slump. After making outs in 30 of his 35 previous at-bats entering Thursday, the Rocks infielder has reached safely nine times in his last four games. Whittleman singled twice in Wilmington's win on Sunday, finishing the afternoon 2-for-4 with a run scored.

The three straight wins over Kinston this weekend marked Wilmington's sixth series sweep of the season and its first three-game winning streak since July 10-13. The Rocks had not swept a series since taking three from Myrtle Beach, May 20-22.

Yem Prades was in the lineup for the first time since the nightcap of Tuesday's doubleheader with Potomac. The time off did not seem to phase the outfielder in the slightest. Prades went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored. The Cuban native is 9-for-13 in his last three games and currently rides an eight-game hitting streak. Prades has had multiple knocks in six of the eight games during his streak.

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Carolina League Stories from July 31, 2011


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