Blue Rocks Falter Early Lead in Thursday’s Bout Against BlueClaws

On Wednesday, the Wilmington Blue Rocks looked to bounce back from Tuesday’s double-digit defeat in their matchup against the BlueClaws.

The Rocks wasted no time getting ahead, Jacob Young’s leadoff single and subsequent wild pitch gave them a runner in scoring position with no outs. Jared McKenzie got the runner to third, and Brady House drove in his first RBI on a groundout to third base.

Blue Rocks starter Kyle Luckham was dominant the first time through the order, surrendering no hits through three innings.

In the bottom half of the third inning, Young would start things again with a one-out walk, followed by back-to-back doubles from McKenzie and House which pushed the lead to 3-1.

Luckham would become mortal in the fourth inning, surrendering the BlueClaw's first hit of the game to Gabriel Rincones Jr. who drilled a double over Jeremy De La Rosa’s head in centerfield. Rincones Jr. would score later in the inning on an RBI single from Rixon Wingrove to get Jersey Shore on the board.

The Blue Rocks would answer in the bottom of the fourth following a single to TJ White and three walks later in the inning, the ladder coming from House, whose walk brought in his third RBI of the game. 4-1 Blue Rocks.

Unfortunately, the tide would turn in the top of the fifth. A triple from Leandro Pineda scored Andrick Nava from first. A sacrifice fly from Erick Brito brought Pineda home from third to bring the deficit to just one run.

Two walks and a passed ball later, Gabriel Rincones Jr. drove both runners in on a single to center field. The BlueClaws took the lead and gathered two insurance runs from an RBI single from Wingroves and a single from Andrix Nova. Nova’s single would end the inning, however, as a diving stop from third baseman Brady House tricked a second runner into heading home, instantly, House fired a rocket home to get the Blue Rocks out of the dreadful inning. Jersey Shore leads 7-4.

Tyler Schoff did his best to keep Jersey Shore at bay. In 2.2 innings in relief, he struck out six batters and surrendered only two hits and one run.

The Blue Rocks would inch closer in the bottom of the eighth inning after a leadoff double from Jeremy De La Rosa and a triple from TJ White.

The BlueClaws held no mercy in the ninth, scoring the run right back thanks to a sacrifice fly from Rincones Jr. to push the BlueClaws lead back to three heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Although the middle of the lineup had a productive day, they were unable to spark magic in the last half inning, resulting in an 8-5 BlueClaws victory.

The two squads will be back in action on Friday at 6:35 p.m. The Blue Rocks will try to even up the series at two wins a piece.