CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Salem Sweeps Away the Rocks

Published on May 6, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - Tim Melville's most successful start in nearly a month still was not enough to end the Wilmington Blue Rocks losing streak. Mellville (1-4) allowed four runs on four hits in 5.2 frames on Thursday night at Frawley Stadium, but took the loss in as Wilmington came up on the short end of a 4-3 decision with the Salem Red Sox. It was the Blue Crew's sixth straight setback.

The top-rated pitching prospect on Wilmington's roster entered the night having failed to pitch into the fifth inning in each of his previous three outings. He had not allowed a run with two away in the fifth however on Thursday. Unfortunately for the Blue Rocks, that is the precise moment when the right-hander found trouble.

Back-to-back two-out walks to Ryan Dent and David Mailman triggered a Salem rally. Dent did not make things any easier on Melville, as he stole both second and third base, tripling his season-long steal total in the process. The shortstop then came home to score on a wild pitch to Peter Hissey, which tied the game, 1-1.

Hissey, a local product hailing from West Chester, PA, then brought home Mailman on a single to left. Jamar Walton had an opportunity to nab Mailman at the plate, but his throw short-hopped Ben Theriot, and the catcher failed to gain clean possession of the ball in time to apply a tag.

Tim Federowicz made it a three-run third for Salem when he popped a double into the left-center field gap, which brought home Hissey.

Wilmington had an immediate response in the home half of the frame. The Rocks, who had scored the game's first run on a 5-4-3 double play in the second, began the fifth with three straight hits.

Anthony Seratelli doubled and Theriot blooped a single into shallow left-center to put runners at the corners. Rey Navarro then hit a soft grounder towards the right-side hole. Salem second baseman Oscar Tejeda made a great play to range left and glove the ball cleanly, but he had to cover so much ground he had no real chance of throwing out the speedy Navarro.

He still made the toss, and when it went wide of first baseman Anthony Rizzo, not only did Seratelli score, but Theriot went all the way from first to third. That would prove critical, as the catcher would come home on Eddie Prasch's RBI grounder to short, which tied the game, 3-3.

Salem went ahead for good in the very next half frame though. Will Middlebrooks doubled. The third baseman moved to third on a Melville wild pitch. Tejeda made amends for his mistake in the previous inning with a flyball to fairly deep right. Adrian Ortiz threw a pea to the plate, but Middlebrooks slid in just ahead of Theriot's tag with what ended up being the winning run.

Wilmington's best opportunity to pull even came in the seventh. Theriot laced a liner to right for a one-out single. Navarro followed with a fielder's choice groundout, but the shortstop moved into scoring position on Salem reliever Mitchell Herold's wild pitch. That would be as far as he got however, as Prasch popped out in foul territory near first to end the threat.

Salem starter Brock Huntzinger got the win. Huntzinger (2-2) tossed six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. He struck out four and did not issue a single free pass. Herold allowed only one hit in three frames to register his first save of the season.

Wilmington looks to regroup on the road on Friday night, as they visit Frederick for a brief three-game road trip. Game one of the series starts at 7 p.m. Wilmington sends southpaw Ivor Hodgson (2-1, 7.94) to the hill, while Frederick is slated to counter with fellow left-hander Nate Nery (1-2, 4.85).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Adrian Ortiz saw his season-high eight-game hitting streak come to an end on Thursday. The Wilmington leadoff man, who went 0-for-4 in the loss, batted .424 (14-for-33) during the stretch.

Jamie Romak got his first night off of the season for Wilmington. The usual cleanup hitter went just 4-for-24 over the first six games of the homestand.

The Rocks extended their season-high six-game losing streak. Wilmington, which occupies the basement of the Carolina League North, saw its record drop to a season-worst seven games under .500 at 10-17.

The Blue Crew was swept in a series for the first time in 2010. As a result, Wilmington finished the seven-game homestand, 1-6.

Blue Rocks left fielder Jamar Walton had his second straight multi-hit game. After managing just one hit in his first 26 at-bats, Walton has four knocks over his last eight plate appearances.

Wilmington catcher Salvador Perez left the game due to injury after the first inning. Perez saw a foul ball ricochet off of his upper body with one out in the first. He was attended to by trainer Dave Iannicca on the field, but stayed in the game and finished the frame. Ben Theriot replaced him behind the plate in the second.

On a sad note, former Wilmington Blue Rock and baseball Hall of Famer, Robin Roberts passed away of natural causes in his home in Temple Terrace, FL on Thursday morning. He was 83 years old. Roberts was a member of the original Blue Rocks, which called Wilmington home from 1940-1952. He spent the first two months of the 1948 season in Delaware, going 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 11 games. The teams honored Roberts with a moment of silence before Thursday night's game.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from May 6, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central