Rocks Rally Falls Short in Loss

Wilmington, DE - A late rally by the Wilmington Blue Rocks (5-7) fell short as the Carolina Mudcats (7-6) took a 7-4 decision Tuesday night at Frawley Stadium. Trailing 7-0 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Rocks scored four runs in the frame and loaded the bases with two outs to bring the potential winning run to the plate, but Gabriel Cancel struck out to end the comeback bid.
 

It was Cancel who got the frame jumpstarted. His infield single was followed by a bloop-basehit by Khalil Lee. After Dallas Carroll robbed Emmanuel Rivera on a diving play for the first out, Chris Devito got the momentum going again with an RBI single. Chase Vallot then worked a walk to load the bases.
That set up Meibrys Viloria , who roped a two-run double to the corner in left that pulled the Rocks closer, 7-3. Kort Peterson made it a three-run affair when he yanked a grounder into right. That led Carolina to pull southpaw Daniel Brown and insert righty Chase Williams.
Williams seemed to quell the fire by getting Angelo Castellano to fly out to right. But Rudy Martin worked a walk, which loaded the bases. Cancel came back up with a chance to finish what he started, but a strikeout instead ended the night.
Blue Rocks starter Jace Vines struggled early as Carolina built the seven-run advantage. The Mudcats chased the right-hander after just three frames, scoring seven times on 10 hits and two walks. Meanwhile, Carolina starter Trey Supak tossed five scoreless innings en route to the victory.
The Rocks and Mudcats will finish the three-game series on Wednesday. Right-hander Ofreidy Gomez (0-0, 4.91 ERA) makes the start for Wilmington while lefty Nathan Kirby (0-1, 11.25 ERA) gets the ball for Carolina. First pitch is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. and fans can listen to the game as Matt Janus and Cory Nidoh will have the call on 89.7 WGLS-FM.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
Khalil Lee continues his torrid pace at the plate at just 19-years-old. The outfielder reached base two more times Tuesday thanks to a walk and infield single. Lee entered Tuesday leading the Carolina League in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and batting average. He also leads the team in home runs (2) and hits (14). The outfielder has reached base in all 11 games played this season and has also recorded a hit in all but one game this season.
For the second straight game, the Blue Rocks bullpen was sensational. On Tuesday night, the combination of Matthew Wynne , Nolan Becker and Grant Gavin tossed a combined six scoreless innings, allowed five hits, one walk and struck out five batters. Monday night, it was Justin Camp and Walker Sheller who tossed four shutout innings, allowed a pair of hits and struck out seven. With the stellar performance Tuesday night, Wilmington's bullpen ERA is an impressive 2.03 through the first 12 games.
The 15 hits given up by the Blue Rocks were the most in a single-game this season. The previous high was 13 which occurred in the second game of the season at Potomac in a 9-2 loss. It marked the fifth time this season the Blue Rocks have allowed 10-plus hits in a game. In such contests, Wilmington owns a 1-4 record.
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