CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Two Big Frames Help Wilmington End Skid

June 7, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks busted out of a prolonged slump on Tuesday night as they routed the Kinston Indians, 8-2, at Frawley Stadium. The win ended Wilmington's five-game losing streak and kept it within 5.5 games of first-place Frederick in the Carolina League North standings.

The big inning was the key to the Rocks' resurgence at the plate. Wilmington scored three runs in the game's opening frame and added five more tallies in the seventh.

Whit Merrifield started the contest in style for Wilmington. The normal outfielder, who shifted to second base on Tuesday, snuck a fly ball just inside the left-field foul pole for a lead-off home run. He was the first of four straight Rocks to reach safely in the bottom of the first. Carlo Testa followed with a bloop-single to right-center and Rey Navarro was hit on the right hip with a pitch. That set up Nick Francis' two-run double down the left-field chalk that put Wilmington in front, 3-0.

It was enough for the Rocks pitching staff, which allowed hits, but wiggled out of jams all night. Starter Jake Odorizzi worked five one-run frames, fanning five as he scattered eight hits. The right-hander put two men on in the first, but stranded them at the corners by getting all three outs on whiffs.

In the second he yielded an RBI single to Tyler Holt, but left two more runners on base to preserve a 3-1 Rocks advantage. Odorizzi (5-0) got some assistance from his defense in the third when Tim Ferguson made a brilliant sliding catch near the wall on the left-field foul-line and then doubled off Adam Abraham at second base.

The trend continued when the Wilmington bullpen entered in the sixth, as Michael Mariot allowed a single and uncorked a wild pitch that moved Chase Burnette into scoring position before stranding him at second. The K-Tribe finished Tuesday with nine runners left on base and were just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

The Blue Crew blew the game open in the home-seventh, sending eight batters to the plate. Deivy Batista, Merrifield and Testa all drove in single scores before Francis unloaded a two-run bomb that cleared the batter's eye in dead-center field.

Kinston starter Brett Brach (4-4) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits, while K-Tribe reliever Jose Flores was victimized for the five-run seventh.

The series continues on Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch at Frawley Stadium. Southpaw Justin Marks (2-3, 4.80) hits the hill for Wilmington against Kinston left-hander T.J. House (2-6, 5.40). Broadcast coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. when 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:

Whit Merrifield's offensive misery finally ended on Tuesday. Merrifield busted out of a 1-for-32 slump at the plate with his first-inning homer and added an RBI single in the seventh. Perhaps it was the move to second base that sparked his bat. The South Carolina product made only his fourth start of the season in the infield.

Merrifield's first-inning homer marked the first time a Rock smacked a lead-off dinger since Josh Johnson did it against Lynchburg Hillcat hurler Tony Watson on July 14, 2008. Merrifield's dinger came on the same day that Watson was activated on a big league roster for the first time, joining the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Carlo Testa continued his red-hot homestand. Testa went 3-for-4 on Tuesday with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. He is hitting .545 (6-for-11) and has scored three runs this week at Frawley Stadium.

Henry Barrera appeared in a game with Wilmington for the first time in 2011. The reliever, who began the season on the disabled list, came on in the eighth inning and allowed one run on three hits while fanning three and walking none in two frames of work. Barrera spent the 2008 season with the Rocks and then returned to the Riverfront on a brief rehab stint in 2010.

Wilmington played error-free baseball on Tuesday night, ending a string of five consecutive contests with at least one defensive miscue that fell one shy of the team's longest streak of the season. The win also ended Wilmington's first four-game losing skid at Frawley Stadium of the 2011 campaign.

Wilmington's eight runs scored were the most in a game since the Rocks plated nine tallies against the Lynchburg Hillcats on May 21. Not coincidentally, that was also the last time the Blue Crew managed double-digit hits in a contest. Wilmington fell one knock shy of ending that string on Tuesday.

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Carolina League Stories from June 7, 2011


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