CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Swept in Final Series at Grainger Stadium

Published on July 24, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Kinston, NC - Make it four days in a row the Wilmington Blue Rocks (46-52, 10-19) have blown a lead late. Sunday's finale at Grainger Stadium saw the Blue Crew allow two runs on three straight two-out hits in the seventh inning en route to the squad's first deficit of the day and ultimately a 7-5 defeat. The Kinston Indians (56-41, 18-10) won their fourth in a row to sweep the three-game set, Wilmington's final regular-season series at Grainger Stadium. The Kinston franchise will move to Zebulon, NC in 2012. The Blue Rocks have lost nine of 10 and 19 of their last 27 games.

With two outs and the bases empty in the seventh, Ryan Dennick (1-4) allowed an infield hit to shortstop off the bat of Abner Abreu. Chase Burnette followed with an RBI double to right, scoring Abreu from first to tie the game. Tyler Cannon then doubled just inside the third-base bag for Kinston's first lead of the day, 6-5.

The Blue Rocks did not go down without a fight. In the eighth, Whit Merrifield's two-out double put men at second and third to chase reliever Kyle Landis (5-0). Kinston made the move to southpaw Chris Jones with lefty Carlo Testa due up. Wilmington skipper Brian Rupp countered by pinch hitting the right-handed stick of Tim Ferguson. Rains that had fallen throughout the inning intensified as Ferguson worked a five-pitch walk to load the bases. Catcher Doug Pickens walked to the hill for a conference and the umpiring crew called over Kinston groundskeeper Stephen Watson. After a conversation that lasted several minutes, the decision was made to bring out the tarp as a 42-minute rain delay ensued.

When play resumed, Nick Van Stratten took a couple of strikes before a swing and a miss completed a three-pitch strikeout to leave the bases loaded.

Kinston got insurance in the eighth. Argenis Martinez was hit by a Dusty Odenbach pitch to begin the frame. He stole second, took third on Delvi Cid's groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Casey Frawley.

In the ninth, Kurt Mertins reached on a two-out four-pitch walk. Guilmet fell behind Yem Prades 3-0, but Prades grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

Both starters suffered tough days. In returning to Wilmington's rotation after spending three weeks in the bullpen, Tim Melville allowed four runs on five hits, four walks, three hit batters and one wild pitch over 3.1 innings. He struck out four but departed after walking in a run to make it a 5-4 game in the fourth. His successor, Elisaul Pimentel, made his first relief appearance as a Blue Rock with 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings. He struck out a pair of middle-of-the-order hitters in Jeremie Tice and Abreu to strand the bases loaded behind Melville.

Knuckleballer Steven Wright lasted six innings plus two batters for Kinston. He gave up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits and four walks. He tossed two wild pitches and allowed John Whittleman's team-leading 16th home run in the third inning.

The Blue Rocks return to Frawley Stadium for a seven-game homestand that starts with a critical four-game set against the Potomac Nationals. Carolina League All-Star Michael Mariot (6-2, 3.03) gets the ball in game one against fellow righty Adam Olbrychowski (3-5, 4.85). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. 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:

The Blue Rocks have made an error in 16 of their last 17 games.

Kinston entered the series averaging a league-low 3.6 runs/game. It scored 29 in sweeping the three-game set.

The Blue Rocks posted a losing record in their final season of play at Grainger Stadium. After winning each of the first three games at the park back in April, they dropped six of the last seven to go 4-6 in the historic ballpark. Eight of the 10 games were decided by two runs or less.

Wilmington went just 1-for-13 (.077) with runners in scoring position. It left 11 men on base, including eight in scoring position.

With a game-time heat index of 103, the paid crowd was announced at just 816. That makes for the second-smallest crowd to watch a Blue Rocks game this season. Just 724 attended Lynchburg's City Stadium for the Rocks' 5-2 loss on April 27.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from July 24, 2011


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