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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Wilmington Starts Road Trip with Rout

June 10, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Winston-Salem, NC - Seven different Blue Rocks recorded multi-hit nights as the Wilmington offense posted season-highs with 13 runs and 19 hits. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Alex Caldera (6-3) just kept battling, as he pitched around early trouble to help the Blue Crew earn a 13-2 rout of the Winston-Salem Dash at BB&T Ballpark on Thursday night.

Wilmington left fielder Adrian Ortiz led the way, going 4-for-6 with three runs scored and an RBI. Eric Hosmer, Jamie Romak and Patrick Norris added three hits each.

The Blue Crew bats got busy right from the opening inning, scoring runs in each of the contest's first three frames. Wilmington took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, posted a four-spot in the second and added to its advantage with a single tally in the third.

Nick Francis and Romak combined on the game's first score. Francis lined a single up the middle with one away. He went to second on Hosmer's grounder to first, and to third on a wild pitch off the arm of Winston-Salem starter Nevin Griffith (4-2). That set up Romak's scorched single into left field, which allowed Francis to walk home.

The Dash had an answer in the bottom of the first. Winston-Salem's first four batters of the game reached base against Caldera, with two coming home to score. Only one of the runs was earned, as a Hosmer error allowed Eduardo Escobar to reach and eventually score. Brandon Short, who opened the inning with a single, plated the Dash's other run. It would be Winston-Salem's final tally of the night.

Caldera worked his way out of the first without any further damage, stranding two. In fact, the right-hander forced Winston-Salem to leave a runner in scoring position on base during each of the game's first four innings.

Meanwhile, his offense was taking advantage of every opportunity it was given. In the second, the Rocks sent nine men to the plate. The inning's first four batters reached, with Ortiz and Hosmer coming through with the frame's biggest hits.

Ortiz smoked a double off the base of the wall in right that landed just past the out-reached glove of a sprinting Brandon Short. Short also missed catching Hosmer's triple by inches just two batters later. The right fielder leapt at the wall, but saw the Wilmington first baseman's majestic moon shot carom off the wall just above his reach, giving Wilmington a 5-2 lead.

In the fourth, Jamar Walton began the frame with a single and eventually came home on a Norris sacrifice fly to right that put the Rocks in front by four runs.

The Blue Crew bullpen, which relieved Caldera in the sixth, was magnificent. Over the game's final four frames, Harold Mozingo and James Thompson combined to fan four, surrender only three hits and nail down a Wilmington win.

In the eighth, Wilmington blew the game apart at the seams. Three Winston-Salem errors helped the Rocks score four runs in the inning.

The Blue Rocks added three more scores in the ninth thanks to five straight two-out hits. Hosmer drove in one of the scores with a single, and Romak was responsible for the other two tallies thanks to his double down the left-field line.

Wilmington, which has now won five of its last six games, will continue its eight-day, seven-game road trip in Winston-Salem on Friday night. Southpaw John Lamb (2-1, 1.50) makes the start for the Rocks, while the Dash will counter with right-hander Stephen Sauer (4-2, 4.08).

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

After waiting until his last at-bat before extending his hitting streak on Wednesday night, Jamie Romak wasted no time on Thursday. The third baseman got a hit for the 18th straight game thanks to an RBI single in the opening inning. Romak added another RBI single that trickled up the third-base line and stayed fair in the eighth and roped a two-run double down the left-field line in the ninth. He is batting a blistering .441 (30-for-68) over these last 18 games. Romak is now just one game shy of equaling the longest hitting streak in franchise history. Corey Hart established the franchise mark by hitting safely in 19 straight from July 30-September 1, 2001. His streak was matched by Justin Cowan from June 29-July 26, 2002.

Nick Francis was able to extend his hitting streak to a season-best 10 games with a first-inning single. The right fielder is hitting .310 (13-for-42) during the streak.

Eric Hosmer had a big day at the plate, falling just a homer shy of the cycle with three RBIs and a run scored. Hosmer's second-inning triple was his fifth of the season, tying him for the team-lead with Adrian Ortiz.

The Blue Rocks have had success at the brand new BB&T Ball Park. In the stadium's inaugural season, Wilmington has won three of its first four games there. Entering Thursday, Winston-Salem enjoyed the second-best record at home in all of baseball. The Dash has only lost seven games all season in Winston-Salem. The Rocks offense has posted at least six runs in each contest. Wilmington has scored six or more runs just 16 times in 61 games all season long.

The Dash finished the night with four miscues in the field, which led to seven unearned Wilmington runs. Winston-Salem began the evening tied for the best fielding percentage in the Carolina League.

Before the game, Hosmer, Alex Caldera and Salvador Perez learned they had been named to the Carolina League mid-season All-Star team. Hosmer will start at first base, while Perez goes as the utility catcher. Caldera could be the starting pitcher, as that decision will be made later by the team's manager, Myrtle Beach skipper Rocket Wheeler. The Dash had the most men make the team, as it will send seven players to Myrtle Beach, when the CL All-Stars host the California League All-Stars on Tuesday, June, 22.

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