Lopez slugs Blue Rocks to sweep

Jack Lopez entered Saturday's doubleheader with six RBIs in 30 games for Class A Advanced Wilmington. By the end of a long day and night, he had more than doubled that total.

The Royals prospect homered and knocked in a career-high seven runs as the Blue Rocks routed Frederick, 18-7, to complete a sweep of their doubleheader.

After collecting an RBI single in the opener, Lopez delivered a two-run triple in the fourth inning of the nightcap. He added a two-run single an inning later and capped the Blue Rocks' eight-run seventh with a three-run homer to left field.

"It was pretty exciting, everyone was talking about it," Lopez said of his second homer of the season. "[I'm] just trying to enjoy it little bit, trying to get it back together. It was awesome."

Selected by the Royals in the 16th round of last year's Draft, Lopez obliterated his previous career high of three RBIs for Class A Kane County on Aug. 12. The 20-year-old shortstop came into the twinbill with a .193 batting average and six RBIs. He left Harry Grove Stadium with a .211 mark after going 4-for-9.

"Exciting and successful, I guess you could say," Lopez said of his career day. "It's not so much about me, it's about the team. I was struggling, the team had been struggling as a whole, so it was good to come out with a bang against Frederick."

Jorge Bonifacio, the Royals' No. 8 prospect, was 4-for-4 with two RBIs in the nightcap to raise his average to .320. The 19-year-old outfielder is batting .419 (13-for-31) in nine games in May, and Lopez had nothing but praise for his roommate.

"He's awesome, he's a great guy," Lopez said. "It's great being around someone like that, to learn from someone like that. He's going to be a superstar someday, hopefully."

Jared Schlehuber drove in four runs and Kenny Diekroeger slugged a two-run homer for Wilmington, which halted a two-game slide with a 6-4 win in the opener.