Blue Rocks Scratched by Hillcats in Late Inning Loss

Wilmington, DE - A tied ballgame quickly unraveled late for the Wilmington Blue Rocks (23-23) as the Lynchburg Hillcats (25-20) scored two runs in the ninth inning to beat the Blue Crew 4-2 Wednesday afternoon at Frawley Stadium. The loss snaps the club's modest four-game winning streak at home and their three-game winning streak overall. Nathan Esposito finished the game with a pair of hits and drove in a run for Wilmington.

A 2-2 stalemate in the top of the ninth inning was broken by Lynchburg. After RHP Franco Terrero issued back-to-back walks to start the inning, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third. Sicnarf Loopstok and Martin Cervenka followed with consecutive sacrifice flies to give the Hillcats a 4-2 lead that they wouldn't surrender.
The Hillcats took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning off LHP starter Foster Griffin with an RBI groundout from Jodd Carter who scored Yonathan Mendoza who started the inning with a single. The Rocks tied it up in the bottom of the fifth inning with a clutch, two-out RBI single from Esposito to make it a 1-1 contest.
Lynchburg manufactured their second run of the game in sixth inning. After a one-out single and walk put runners on first and second, the Hillcats executed a double steal to put both runners in scoring position. Andrew Calica capitalized and lofted a sacrifice fly to center field to push the Hillcats out in front again, 2-1. Wilmington also used small ball to tie the game in the seventh inning. Cody Jones walked and Wander Franco singled to right field to put runners at the corners. With one out, Nicky Lopez drove home Jones with a ground out to shortstop to tie the game 2-2.
Griffin did not factor in the decision and allowed an earned run on seven hits despite not having his best stuff on the mound. It marks the eighth time in his ten starts this season he has allowed two earned runs or less.
Wilmington concludes the three-game series against Lynchburg at Frawley Stadium on Thursday, May 25. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. and RHP Scott Blewett (2-4, 4.11 ERA) gets the start for the Blue Rocks while RHP Shane Bieber (0-0, 1.93 ERA) will climb the hill for the Hillcats. Fans can listen to the game as Matt Janus and Cory Nidoh will have the call on 89.7 WGLS-FM.
Pebbles of Knowledge:
Lopez extended both his on-base streak and hitting streak with a hit in his first at-bat of the game on Wednesday. His on-base streak now moves to 23-games and the hitting streak inched to 13-games. The Wilmington shortstop has been a fantastic catalyst atop the lineup and has hit safely in all but five games this year. The on-base streak is currently the longest active streak in the Carolina League and second-longest of the season for the Blue Rocks. Anderson Miller reached in 30 consecutive games before his incredible streak came to an end earlier this month.
Despite the loss, the Blue Rocks continue to play well through May. With the loss, they are now 15-8 in the second month of the season and hitting .274, a 58-point increase from their April team batting average of .216. Wilmington is averaging nearly five runs a game this month and have clubbed 20 home runs through the stretch.
Griffin continues either dominate or find ways to navigate out of trouble when he isn't at his best. With another one-run outing on Wednesday, the ace of the Rocks' staff has allowed five earned runs in the last 25 2/3 innings of work which is good for a dazzling 1.75 ERA. Since his roughest start of the year in Salem back on April 17, the lefty has a 2.64 ERA over his last seven starts.
The Rocks will look for their second consecutive series win with a win on Thursday in the series win against Lynchburg. The Rocks are coming off a series triumph at Frederick where they took three of four games against the Keys. The Rocks have not won back-to-back series at all this season.
They Said It: Jamie Quirk
"Both sides had a lot of traffic. (Foster) Griffin worked out of traffic his whole five innings. He had to work hard. He didn't cave in and did a good job, only let up one run, but a lot of traffic. The relievers have been doing such a fantastic job keeping it from the other team adding on and today was a day where they were able to add on. We had to keep playing catch up and didn't quite get there."
"A year ago right now, (Griffin) would have given up three or four runs (in a start where he was off). He made pitches when he needed to. He got himself in low traffic, low trouble and got some big strikeouts when he needed to. He battled. That's a good sign when you don't have your good stuff. You are throwing a lot of pitches, there are tons of baserunners and you are pitching out of the stretch and he was able to get through it."
"It was a big at-bat (on Nate Esposito's RBI single in the fifth inning). He was determined to get that run in and he got that base hit. Key part in the game and Esposito has been doing that. When he gets an opportunity to play he does a good job. He knows what he is, he wasn't trying to be a hero. He was just trying to get the ball in play and he hit a nice line drive for a base hit."
"Oh yeah. (on Nicky Lopez's having big league potential) Skipping Low A, he didn't skip a beat. He just plays baseball. You could put him at a higher level right now and he is going to be fine, but a year ago right now he was in college. He is still learning but his baseball IQ is tremendous. He is always in the right spot. Defensively he is phenomenal, offensively he is phenomenal. He is still learning his game but he is at the top of it right now. He is just going out and playing and doing his thing. Whatever happens, happens. He will get there. Time will tell, there is no rush. He is still young, but he is playing great."
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