Mills's Gem, Two-Out Magic Lead Way to Victory in Playoff Opener

 

Lynchburg, VA -A strong pitching performance from Alec Mills and some clutch two-out hitting by the Blue Rocks carried Wilmington to a 6-1 win over the Lynchburg Hillcats in Game One of the Carolina League Northern Division Championship Series on Wednesday at City Stadium. Mills worked six scoreless frames, while Elier Hernandez, Cam Gallagher, Maurico Ramos, Ryan O'Hearn and Brandon Downes all drove in runs with two-out knocks. The victory leaves Wilmington one win away from its first Mills Cup Championship Series appearance since 2004.

Wilmington wasted little time jumping in front of the Hillcats, manufacturing a run in the opening inning. Carlos Garcia and Jack Lopez started the night with singles, and two outs later, Hernandez legged out an infield single to short that gave the Rocks a 1-0 edge.

Mills made it clear that he planned on making that lead hold up. The righty fanned five of the first nine batters he faced, and faced just one over the minimum through three. In the fourth he pitched around a lead-off single by Yohxian Medina, stranding the infielder at third base. He then left runners at first and second in the fifth by fanning Greg Allen before closing his night with a one-two-three sixth.

Mills threw 96 pitches --65 for strikes-- on his way to six punchouts. He walked three, but yielded just two hits, neither of which got out of the infield.

Meanwhile the Blue Crew offense added to its advantage with huge hits in the sixth and seventh innings. Gallagher pulled one past Joe Sever at third to score O'Hearn in the sixth. Ramos then poked a soft liner to right that plated Logan Moon in the seventh, and Ramos came home on O'Hearn's subsequent double to right.

O'Hearn and Garcia led the charge for Wilmington. O'Hearn roped a pair of doubles, driving in a run and scoring another. Garcia had five productive plate appearances with three singles, a double and a sacrifice bunt. He added a stolen base and scored twice. Ramos added two RBIs to the Wilmington cause and Downes drove in a run during his only at-bat of the night in the ninth.

Michael Peoples took the loss for Lynchburg. The right-hander yielded two runs on seven hits in six innings. He fanned nine and walked only one. Yender Caramo allowed a two-out, two-strike homer to Mike Papi in the ninth, but still yielded just one run in three frames to nail down the save.

The Blue Rocks return to Wilmington vying to clinch this best-of-three series on Thursday. Southpaw Matthew Strahm takes the ball for the Rocks, while Lynchburg will counter with lefty Jayson Aquino (1-3, 2.45). First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. and patrons will receive rally towels courtesy of Premiere Orthopedics. Fans can listen to the broadcast on 89.7 WGLS-FM. For tickets, call 302-888-BLUE, or visit www.bluerocks.com.