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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Win Despite Four Defensive Miscues

July 13, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - At the end of the day, no one asks how, but rather how many. The Wilmington Blue Rocks were very thankful for that fact on Wednesday night. Despite committing a season-high tying four errors, the Blue Crew earned a 5-4 walk-off win over the Frederick Keys courtesy of Ryan Stovall's run-scoring double in the 10th inning at Frawley Stadium.

The Rocks let three separate advantages slip away thanks to porous defense. After Yem Prades put Wilmington on top, 2-0, in the second courtesy of his two-out two-run homer to left, the Keys tied the game with a pair of unearned runs in the third.

An errant throw on a stolen base attempt by Jose Bonilla and another botched toss by third baseman John Whittleman, helped the Keys nod the game.

Whittleman atoned for his miscue in the fourth when he opened the inning with one of the most impressive shots of the season from a Blue Rock batter. Whittleman sent a Bobby Bundy pitch soaring deep into the Wilmington night, well past the right field fence for a solo homer that gave the Blue Crew a 3-2 lead.

The Keys pulled even in the seventh off reliever Tim Melville. Dale Molenhauer drew a one-out walk and scored one batter later on Steve Bumbry's single to right. Wilmington went back in front in the home-half of the frame. hustled around to score from first on Carlo Testa's double to right-center.

Again the Blue Rocks defense booted away the lead though.

The bottom nearly fell out on the Blue Crew in the top of the eighth. Melville saw his defense commit two errors in the frame (one by Whittleman and the other by Gerard Hall) and watched Frederick plate the tying tally without the benefit of a hit. The damage could have been much worse if not for an inning-ending double play off the bat of Kipp Schutz.

The twin-killing set the stage for Stovall's heroics in the 10th. Jason Gurka (0-1) opened the inning on the mound for Frederick, but the left-hander yielded a one-out free pass to Nick Van Stratten. He moved one out away from extending the game by whiffing Whittleman, but then received the hook from Keys manager Orlando Gomez.

On came Kenny Moreland, who was greeted by Stovall's liner that snuck just inside the third-base chalk and shot toward the left-field corner. Van Stratten hurried his way home with the winning run.

Bryan Paukovits (1-), who retired all six batters he faced, picked up the victory in relief for the Rocks.

Wilmington looks to extend its three-game winning streak when it continues this four-game series with the Keys at Frawley Stadium on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Michael Mariot (5-1, 3.02) hits the hill for the Rocks against Frederick southpaw Jacob Pettit. 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. For tickets call 302-888-BLUE or visit bluerocks.com.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Ryan Stovall turned in his fourth consecutive multi-hit performance and his fifth in Wilmington's last seven games. Stovall went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the latest Wilmington win. Wednesday's hero is 8-for-16 in his last four games.

The Rocks committed an error for a season-high seventh consecutive contest. The Blue Crew has committed 12 errors over that stretch, and six in its last two games. Wilmington had not registered four defensive miscues in a single contest since an April 26th loss to the Lynchburg Hillcats.

Wednesday saw John Whittleman hit his sixth home run in his last eight games. The corner infielder is now on track to finish the season with 22 dingers. The team-record for home runs a single season is 26, set by Larry Sutton in 1994.

Elisaul Pimentel took a no decision for the Rocks, but he continued his mastery of the Frederick Keys. The right-hander has now posted a 0.36 ERA in 25 frames of works this season against Frederick. Pimentel is still searching for his first win over the Keys however, thanks to four unearned tallies yielded by the Rocks during his outings. He allowed two unearned scores on Wednesday as he fanned five and walked two over six innings pitched.

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Carolina League Stories from July 13, 2011


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