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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Sample Stellar As Rocks Blank Myrtle Beach

July 10, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - Tyler Sample tossed seven scoreless innings and an opportunistic Wilmington offense cashed in on its limited chances against heralded pitching prospect Barret Loux as the Blue Rocks beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, 3-0, on Sunday at Frawley Stadium.

For the second straight game Wilmington raced out to a 2-0 lead in the opening inning. With two outs and nobody on, Nick Van Stratten was hit by a pitch and John Whittleman worked a walk. That put runners at first and second for Ryan Stovall who brought them both home when his double split the outfielders and headed into the left-centerfield alley.

This time the early cushion would prove to be enough for the Blue Crew. Sample (6-6) allowed just three hits as he kept Myrtle Beach off the board. The right-hander whiffed seven and walked only two on his way to the win.

He saw just three runners advance into scoring position during his outing. Sample worked his way out of a first and second two-out jam in the first. He then walked a pair in the third, but got C.L. All-Star Ryan Strausborger to bounce one meekly toward second that ended the inning. Strausborger tried to redeem himself with a one-out double in the sixth, but Sample followed that up with consecutive grounders to short. The right-hander retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced.

The Rocks added to their lead in the third. Whit Merrifield opened the frame with a single, stole second, went to third on a fly ball to deep center off the bat of Carlo Testa and came home on Van Stratten's RBI grounder to short.

It was not always pretty for the Wilmington offense. Loux (8-4) equaled a career-high with 11 strikeouts in six innings pitched. The Rocks' offense finished the afternoon with 14 punchouts.

It did not matter though, as the Blue Crew bullpen picked up right where Sample left off. Michael Mariot grabbed his fifth save in as many tries by keeping the Pelicans off the board over the final two frames. The effort nailed down Wilmington's sixth shutout win of the season.

The Rocks and Pelicans conclude this three-game series at Frawley Stadium on Monday at 7:05 p.m. Justin Marks (4-6, 4.59) hits the hill for Wilmington against Myrtle Beach southpaw Robbie Ross (8-2, 2.36). 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.

It is a Dollar Monday presented by TD Bank. Fans can buy one ticket and get a second for just one dollar. In addition, every Monday home game is a Dollar Dog Night, courtesy of Dietz & Watson. For tickets call 302-888-BLUE or visit bluerocks.com.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Ryan Stovall turned in his second straight multi-hit performance and his third in Wilmington's last five games. Stovall went 2-for-4 on Sunday with a double and two RBIs. The infielder is 4-for-9 in the first two games of this series.

The Rocks won despite the final four hitters in their batting order accomplishing nothing at the plates. Kurt Mertins, Yem Prades, Jose Bonilla and Gerard Hall combined to go 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts. The only productive plate appearance from the group came when Mertins laid down a sacrifice bunt in the sixth. Hall's 0-for-3 day ended his five-game hitting streak.

After turning in the shortest start by a Wilmington pitcher in 2011 his last time out, Tyler Sample bounced back strong on Sunday. The 22-year-old Denver, CO native allowed 10 runs (six earned) in just 1.2 frames on Tuesday at Potomac. He pitched through the seventh inning for just the fourth time all season in Sunday's victory.

The All-Star Futures Game allows fans to see the game's best prospects all on one field. The 13th edition of the game takes place on Sunday at Arizona's Chase Field at 6 p.m. ET on MLB.TV, ESPN2, XM Radio and MLB.com's Gameday. Former Blue Rocks Kelvin Herrera and Wil Myers will play for the World and U.S. teams respectively. Myers is slated to get the start for the Americans and bat eighth.

Before the game on Sunday the Royals sent catcher Travis Jones to Wilmington from Low-A Kane County (MWL). Jones played four games with last year's Blue Crew, going 0-for-13 during his tenure. With the Cougars, Jones gunned down 33% (17 of 52) of would-be base stealers and committed just one passed ball in 44 games behind the plate. He hit .245 with four homers and 16 RBIs in 143 at-bats.

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