Frederick, MD - A night removed from their longest game in six years, the Wilmington Blue Rocks (35-48, 6-7) would have loved a quick series finale. The host Frederick Keys (33-50, 6-7) and the fates had other plans. The tarp came on the field shortly before the game's scheduled start with no rain falling. But the storm came, both literally and figuratively. After a one hour and 19 minute delay, the game itself took another three hours and 19 minutes as the Blue Rocks blew three separate leads and failed in their quest to sweep the defending champs, 12-8.

In a game that sported five combined errors, a miscue made for perhaps the night's biggest run. Down 7-6, the Keys tied the game on Trent Mummey's sixth-inning single against Edwin Carl (1-1), the team's third straight hit of the inning. That run was broken when Angel Franco misplayed a groundball from Ty Kelly for an error that allowed Johnny Ruettiger to score and Frederick would not trail again. Run-scoring hits by Garabez Rosa and Ruettiger added to the lead in the seventh, chasing Carl in the process.

Four days removed from his best outing with Wilmington, Carl suffered his worst. He allowed six runs (five earned), eight hits and one walk over 2.1 innings. Starter Jason Adam did not fare much better. While he at one point struck out six in a row, he gave up five runs on six hits and three walks over 4.1 innings. He threw 98 pitches in that time, including 56 strikes. He also allowed his league-worst 13th home run of the season when Steve Bumbry launched his first of the year to tie the game in the fourth.

That bomb closed what was a 4-0 deficit for the Keys. The Blue Rocks also lead 6-4 after Jose Bonilla's two-run homer against Oscar Melendez in the fifth. Alas, Aaron Baker's fourth hit of the series was also his fourth home run of the set. His league-leading 18th homer of the season greeted Carl from the bullpen and tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Orlando Calixte's sacrifice fly pushed Wilmington ahead in the top of the sixth, 7-6, for the team's third and final lead. The run was unearned on Bobby Wilkins (1-0), who got the win in his Frederick debut.

The Blue Rocks' six-game road trip continues at 7:05 p.m. in Lynchburg on Wednesday night. Wilmington right-hander Chase Boruff (1-4, 5.24) will make his fourth professional start. The host Hillcats will toss right-hander Aaron Northcraft (7-4, 3.35). Broadcast coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. as studio host Rob Cunningham brings fans the Rocks Report Pre-game Show, presented by Wawa, on 89.7 WGLS-FM and online at wgls.rowan.edu.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
The Blue Rocks are in the midst of facing only divisional foes over a stretch of 13 straight and 17 of 20. The Rocks are 17-34 against Southern Division squads and 18-14 against their brothers in the North.

In the first half, the Blue Rocks scored just 227 runs for a league-low 3.2 runs/game average. Despite playing two seven-inning games and posting a sum of one run between the bookend games of last week, Wilmington has scored 76 runs over its first 13 games of the second stanza for an average of 5.8 runs/game. The team that hit 31 home runs over the 70-game first half, the second-lowest total in the league, has bashed 13 early in the second. The Blue Crew hit a league-worst .231 in the first half, but owns a .276 (125-for-453) contact clip so far this half.

With Matt Fields' third homer in as many days and Jose Bonilla's third of the season, the Rocks' home-road home run split widened all the more. An amazing 39 (89%) of the team's 44 homers have come away from Frawley Stadium.

A night after setting positive season-high marks for hits and runs in a game, the Blue Rocks tied their season-worst total of runs allowed in a game. It previously occurred in their most lopsided loss of the season, a 12-1 setback against Carolina on June 7.

The Blue Crew came up short in its quest to notch a third straight road win. It has not done so since last year when it swept Salem in a four-game set at Memorial Stadium from May 16-19.

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