Wilmington capitalizes on walks late in the game

WILMINGTON, Del. — A late surge of offense on Saturday night at Frawley Stadium led the Wilmington Blue Rocks to defeat the Asheville Tourists 9-3.

The game’s first runs did not score until the bottom of the seventh inning. After six shutout frames from the Tourists’ (6-20) starter, Dylan Howard, the Blue Rocks (14-11) cracked Joan Ogando (L, 0-4) with three walks and three hits to plate four runs. They more than doubled their score in the eighth inning, highlighted by a bases-clearing triple.

Offensively, the Tourists had runners in scoring position during the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but could not bring them home. They were held to four hits until the ninth inning, as Gavin Bruni (W, 1-1) danced around trouble during his four scoreless innings in relief. Asheville scored three runs in the final frame, but could not overcome the nine-run defecit.

Drew Brutcher and Zach Daudet each notched a two-hit night.

Asheville and Wilmington will conclude the series on Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. ET first pitch.