Three-Run Second Not Enough As Wilmington Falls To Salem In Extras

Salem, VA - A three-run second inning wasn't enough for the Blue Rocks as the Salem Red Sox stormed back to beat Wilmington, 4-3, in walk-off fashion on Friday night at Salem Memorial Ballpark. The loss spoiled a solid return to the Blue Crew for starting pitcher Brooks Pounders, who worked five strong innings. The Blue Rocks fell to 28-29 in the second half and to 61-64 overall. They trail the first-place Potomac Nationals by six games and maintain a one-game lead over the Lynchburg Hillcats for the C.L. North Wild Card spot.

Jantzen Witte provided the heroics for Salem with a bases-loaded walk-off single to left in the bottom of the 10th inning. After pitching a scoreless ninth, Andrew Edwards returned to the mound for the Blue Crew in the 10th. Matty Johnson and Carlos Asuaje greeted him with back-to-back singles. Edwards then walked Reed Gragnani intentionally to load the bases with nobody out for Witte, who promptly singled to end the game.

The Blue Rocks appeared to have a much better outlook earlier in the evening after a three-run second inning put them ahead, 3-1. Frank Schwindel kicked off the rally with a single to center and advanced to second when Jared Schlehuber was hit by a pitch. Cody Stubbs then singled to load the bases for Cam Gallagher, who doubled home Schwindel and Schlehuber. Stubbs scored on an RBI groundout from Michael Antonio.

Salem opened the scoring in the home half of the first inning courtesy of an RBI single by Reed Gragnani. Johnson led off the frame with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a flyout to right by Asuaje.

After the Blue Rocks took the lead in the second inning, the Red Sox battled back to even the score at three with single tallies in the fifth and the seventh. Gragnani plated Asuaje in the fifth with his second RBI single of the night. After a leadoff double, Dreily Guerrero came around to score on a throwing error by relief pitcher Luis Santos.

Despite taking a no-decision, Brooks Pounders was excellent on Friday for the Blue Rocks. He gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk in five innings pitched. Pounders also struck out six, which was two shy of a career-high.

Jonathan Aro (2-0, 3.00) picked up the win for Salem while Edwards (0-3, 5.56) took the loss for Wilmington.

The Rocks return to action on Saturday night at Salem Memorial Ballpark for the second of four games against the Salem Red Sox. Wilmington will send southpaw Jonathan Dziedzic (5-7, 2.61) to the mound. Salem will counter with fellow lefty Cody Kukuk (4-6, 5.13). First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. and fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:

Brooks Pounders returned to the Blue Rocks on Friday for the first time since 2012 with an outstanding start against the Salem Red Sox. The 6-foot-5 right-hander tossed five sterling frames and gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk. He also fanned six while putting together his longest outing of the year. Pounders, who spent all of 2013 with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, is on the road to recovery after surgery late last year. His 2014 campaign began at Rookie-Level Idaho Falls on July 16 with a shutout inning against Billings. In all, Pounders made six appearances (five starts) for the Chukars after his return to the mound. He was 0-1 there with a 4.80 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched. At Northwest Arkansas last year, Pounders was 5-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 27 games (19 starts) prior to his mid-August injury. On June 27, 2013, he threw a complete-game no-hitter, the first in Naturals history. Back in 2012, during his first stint in Wilmington, Pounders went 6-4 with a 4.32 ERA in 16 games (15 starts).

Frank Schwindel continued to impress with his bat in Friday night's 4-3 loss in Salem. The right-handed hitting slugger moved to the cleanup spot for the first time and was 1-for-4 with a run. Schwindel has now started his Blue Rocks career with hits in four consecutive contests. He finished Thursday night's contest in Myrtle Beach 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk. He went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk on Wednesday and was 2-for-4 on Tuesday in his Blue Crew debut. Schwindel is now a combined 6-for-14 with two homers and two walks in his first four games with Wilmington. Prior to Schwindel, only four Blue Rocks had recorded two hits in their first start with the club this season: Hunter Dozier on April 3, Cody Stubbs on April 4, Tyler Chism on April 6 and Mark Threlkeld on July 4. Schwindel began the campaign with Low-A Lexington, where he had the best offensive season of anyone on the team. In 102 games with the Legends, he batted .286 with 29 doubles, three triples, 20 homers and 20 RBIs. Schwindel is in his second season as a pro. He played in 64 games for Rookie-Level Idaho Falls a year and batted .300 with 14 doubles, a triple, six homers and 25 RBIs.

The second inning has been kind to Wilmington during its current road trip to Myrtle Beach and Salem. After scoring three times in the frame on Friday, the Rocks have amassed a combined eight second-inning tallies in the first four games of the trip. A Cam Gallagher two-RBI double and a Michael Antonio RBI groundout provided the second-inning runs on Friday. Frank Schwindel hit second-frame solo home runs on Wednesday and on Thursday. In Tuesday night's contest, Zane Evans, Cam Gallagher and Jared Schlehuber all hit solo home runs in the second. Wilmington has now scored a combined 32 runs in the second inning this season, the fewest of any regulation frame. The ninth inning is second-to-last with 33 total tallies. The Rocks' best inning has been the fifth, when they have plated a combined 70 runs.

Friday night's loss marked the third time this season that the Blue Crew has been walked off on at Salem Memorial Ballpark. Each of the three walk-off losses has been distinct. Andrew Edwards loaded the bases on Friday with nobody out before Jantzen Witte plated Matty Johnson with an RBI single to win it for Salem. On June 30, Ryan Dent hit a walk-off two-run homer for the Red Sox off of Daniel Stumpf. Back on May 5, Johnson sent Dreily Guerrero plateward on an RBI double to right. Wilmington is now 6-8 this season in games decided during the final at-bat. Friday's contest also dropped the Rocks to 4-5 in extra-inning games during the 2014 campaign.

THEY SAID IT:

Manager Darryl Kennedy:

"We just didn't make the plays. We've been very good defensively all year and it just let us down at the wrong time. We had a popup that we couldn't catch. That really hurt us. The other two are throwing errors. That happens in a game. Especially Gallagher with the stolen base. It kind of short-hopped. A good baserunner jumps up and takes third. The other one was a hurried one on a bunt. The one that really hurts was the popup. You've got to have those outs. Again, you can't dwell on that and we didn't do anything offensively after that second inning. We gave them a chance to stay in the game."

"First inning, I thought [Brooks Pounders] just gave up a couple of hits but we limited it to one run. In the second inning, he got two quick outs and then worked himself into a little bit of a jam. After that, I thought he pitched well and did a good job. Overall, it was a pretty good outing for him."

"[Brett Eibner] is just missing balls that normally he would hit. His timing is still a little off, but hopefully he can get it going soon."

"Winning games [is how one team will set itself apart]. We've got to win. Like I said [Thursday]. We're in the driver's seat. It's up to us. All we've got to do is play and win. It's nice that the other teams are helping out but you can't limp into this or backdoor into it by everybody else losing. You've got to start winning games and that's what we've got to do."

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