CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Two More Errors Help Lead to Blue Crew Loss

Published on July 14, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - Sloppy defense finally caught up to the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Thursday night at Frawley Stadium. After committing six errors but earning consecutive wins in their last two games, the Rocks failed to overcome two defensive miscues that led to a pair of unearned runs in the first inning of the Frederick Keys' wire-to-wire, 6-2 victory on Thursday.

John Whittleman threw errantly to first on Jonathan Schoop's one-out bouncer to first in the opening inning. The 19-year-old Frederick infielder then stole second and moved to third on a wild toss by Wilmington catcher Jose Bonilla. The extra out allowed Jacob Julius to send a two-out two-run bomb over the right-center fence one batter later. The long ball gave Frederick a 2-0 lead it would never relinquish.

Wilmington's offense had no answer for Keys starter Jacob Pettit. In his Advanced-A debut, the Western Oregon University product tossed six scoreless innings. Pettit (1-0) allowed just one runner to reach scoring position as he yielded only a pair of hits while fanning seven and walking one.

Meanwhile Frederick was having its way with Wilmington starter Michael Mariot. The Carolina League All-Star surrendered two more scores in the fourth thanks to a trio of extra-base hits. Dale Mollenhauer snuck a double past a diving Tim Ferguson in left, and then came in to score on Kipp Schutz 's subsequent two-bag knock to right-center. Michael Flacco plated Schutz and made it 4-0 when he laced a triple to right one out later.

Miguel Abreu, who saw his 16-game hitting streak come to an end on Wednesday, started a new streak on Thursday when he brought Mariot's night to a close with his two-out RBI double in the fifth.

The Rocks showed their only true signs of life offensively during a three-pitch stretch in the seventh. Frederick reliever Ryan O'Shea was greeted by a solo bomb to right from Whittleman. Yem Prades sent O'Shea's next offering to right for a triple. He came home on the next pitch when Ferguson lifted a sacrifice fly to center that made it, 5-2.

Whatever momentum Wilmington had built died in the top of the eighth when Jon Keck came on and allowed a run in his Blue Rocks debut.

Wilmington looks to bounce back as it continues this four-game series with the Keys at Frawley Stadium on Friday at 7:05 p.m. Noel Arguelles (3-3, 2.47) hits the hill for the Rocks against Frederick southpaw Nathan Moreau (9-6, 3.63). 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 saw his four-game multi-hit performance streak come to a close. Wednesday's hero, who was 8-for-16 in his last four games, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Thursday.

The Rocks committed an error for a season-high eighth consecutive contest. The Blue Crew has committed 14 errors over that stretch, and eight in its last three games. John Whittleman is personally responsible for three of the defensive miscues over the last two nights.

Whittleman made up for any shortcomings with the glove by hitting his seventh home run in his last nine games. The corner infielder, who has 14 long balls in 2011, is now on track to finish the season with 23 dingers. That would be the most by any Blue Rock since Larry Sutton set the team-record with 26 homers in 1994. Sutton went on to play seven seasons in the majors.

Michael Mariot's struggles as a starter continued on Thursday. The right-hander, who spent most of the season's first half as a piggyback reliever, has a 5-0 record with five saves and a 1.49 ERA in 16 appearances out of the bullpen. In three starts Mariot is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched. He allowed five runs (three earned) in 4.2 frames in Wilmington's 6-2 loss to Frederick.

Whit Merrifield cannot seem to regain the form that led him to a midseason Carolina League All-Star selection. Since the break, the outfielder is hitting just .157 with almost as many strikeouts (nine) as hits (11). His 0-for-4 performance on Thursday dropped his batting average to .255. That is the lowest it has been since April 17.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from July 14, 2011


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