Wilmington Has Last Laugh over Lynchburg
Published on May 13, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release
Wilmington, DE - The third time was a charm for the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Thursday night at Frawley Stadium. Wilmington took three separate leads over the Lynchburg Hillcats, with the third advantage being the one the Blue Crew held onto in its 4-3 victory.
The Rocks went ahead, 1-0 in the first, 3-2 in the third and 4-3 in the sixth. That last lead was preserved by a bullpen which kept the Hillcats off the board over the final four frames.
James Thompson took his turn first, surrendering only a single hit and striking out one in two innings pitched. The effort was good enough to earn Thompson (1-3) his first win of the season. Barry Bowden then finished things off, as the right-hander whiffed a pair and worked around two hits in two scoreless frames. Bowden earned his fourth save of the year.
Wilmington got the scoring started in the opening inning when Adrian Ortiz legged out an infield single. After stealing second and moving to third on Rey Navarro's grounder to the right side, he walked home on Eric Hosmer's laced line-drive double to the right-center field gap.
Wilmington starter Chris Dwyer's issues came thanks to a sudden lack of command with two gone in the third. After retiring the first two hitters he faced in the frame, Dwyer doled out three consecutive bases on balls. Lynchburg made him pay when Neftali Soto grounded one sharply just on the fair side of third base and into the left-field corner. The two-bag hit plated a pair and put Lynchburg in front, 2-1.
The Rocks tied things up in the home-half of that inning. Fernando Garcia tripled to right on a ball that was overrun by Lynchburg outfielder Cody Puckett. One out later Navarro hit a sharp grounder to first that Soto made a nice diving stop on. But the first baseman's throw home was not in time to nab Garcia.
Wilmington took a 3-2 advantage in the fourth courtesy of back-to-back two-out hits. Eddie Prasch sent a bloop-double up the left-field line and then scored on J.D. Alfaro's RBI single up the middle.
After Lynchburg retied the game in the fifth, the Rocks went ahead for good in the bottom of the sixth. Reliever Sean Watson (0-1) was greeted by a Salvador Perez double off the top of the wall in dead-center field. Perez went to third when Jamar Walton reached safely on an error by second baseman Jose Gualdron and then scored when Jamie Romak bounced into a double play.
Hosmer and Ortiz each finished the night with two hits for Wilmington, which stranded only three runners on base all evening.
The Rocks took three out of four from the Hillcats and will look to carry that momentum with them on a seven-game road trip that gets underway Friday in Potomac. First pitch is slated for 7:03 p.m. as Wilmington will send right-hander Alex Caldera (1-2, 4.09) to the hill. The P-Nats are scheduled to counter with fellow right-handed hurler Patrick Lehman (1-0, 4.97)
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Adrian Ortiz stole second in the first inning to up his Carolina League-leading theft total to 13. Ortiz finished the four-game set with three stolen bases and went 7-for-14 at the plate.
The Rocks have won three of their last four games for the first time since April 22-25.
Thursday's victory also gave the Rocks their first series win in five tries. Wilmington last won a series when it took two of three at Winston-Salem April 23-25.
Salvador Perez hit in the clean up spot for the Blue Crew on Thursday night and went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. The Rocks have now used five men in the four spot of the batting order this season.
Prior to the game, Anthony Seratelli learned that he had been recalled to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He departs the Riverfront having hit .277 on his third tour of duty with the Rocks. Over just a 13-game stretch the versatile fan favorite started at six different positions. Infielder Juan Rivera, who had been on the disabled list since May 4, has been activated.
Carolina League Stories from May 13, 2010
- P-Nats Avoid Sweep, Rally for 7-5 Win Over Dash - Potomac Nationals
- Keys Double Up Sox 8-4 in Series Finale - Salem RidgeYaks
- Wilmington Has Last Laugh over Lynchburg - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Nats Turn Tables, Come Back to Beat Dash 7-5 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Mahoney Lifts Keys in 8-4 Win - Frederick Keys
- K-Tribe Stomps Pelicans 10-0 to Win Series - Kinston Indians
- Rocks Edge Cats in Finale to Take Series - Hill City Howlers
- Watch the P-Nats Live on Our New Web Cam - Potomac Nationals
- Bettis, George Bringing Added Star Power to Pelicans' All-Star Week Activites - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Fireworks, Baseball Cards and Heroes Night Highlight Homestand - Kinston Indians
- K-Tribe Notes - Kinston Indians
- Frank Johnson and WBTW Win Bobblehead Battle - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Lynchburg Faces Off Against Wilmington May 13th - Hill City Howlers
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