Rocks Work Extras to Win Another

Salem, VA- The Blue Rocks were one out away from a second consecutive shutout win on Tuesday, instead Wilmington had to work extra innings, but still found its way to a 2-1 victory over the Salem Red Sox at Haley Toyota Field. Ricky Aracena atoned for a ninth-inning error by driving in the winning run in the 10th. The Blue Crew were victorious for the seventh time in their last eight contests and improved the team's record to a season-high 11 games above .500 on the season.

As per Minor League Baseball rules the Rocks started the 10th inning with a runner at second base. Cristian Perez immediately went to third on a balk. He plated the winning run one out later when Aracena snuck a grounder through the right side for a single.
It was quite the turnaround for both Wilmington and Aracena after a gut-wrenching bottom of the ninth.
With the Rocks ahead, 1-0, Nick Lovullo started the Sox rally with a lead-off walk against Tad Ratliff . He was then replaced by pinch-runner Deiner Lopez, who promptly stole second base. But Lopez was still stuck there with two down before Pedro Castellanos hit a grounder toward second. Ricky Aracena tried to barehand the ball to throw Castellanos out and end the game, instead he missed it. The play was ruled an infield single and an error which allowed Lopez to score the tying run and Castellanos to move into scoring position. Wilmington called on reliever Collin Sinder, who retired Tanner Nishioka to get the contest to extras.
Snider stranded runners at first and third in the 10th to grab the victory.
Wilmington strung together its only run in regulation during the fourth. Brewer Hicklen opened the frame with a single and then went to third on a knock by Nick Pratto . That allowed the speedy Hicklen to come home on an RBI-grounder from MJ Melendez .
The Rocks continue their seven-day, eight-game road trip on Wednesday at Salem. Right-hander Jackson Kowar  gets the ball for Wilmington with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. Fans can catch all the action with the Voice of the Blue Rocks Cory Nidoh on 89.7 WGLS-FM. Wilmington returns to Frawley Stadium on Friday for a six-game homestand. Tickets are available at BlueRocks.com.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
The Blue Rocks came just one out shy of its fourth shutout in the span of eight days and its sixth of the season. One of the reasons for the success on the mound has been a starting staff that features three first round picks (Daniel Lynch , Brady Singer  and Jackson Kowar) and top-25 prospect Daniel Tillo . That quartet has combined to allow just one total earned run over their last six collective outings. Lynch and Singer have not yielded a single score in 13 combined frames over the first two games of this series in Salem.
The Blue Crew have excelled in close games this season. Wilmington leads the Carolina League with 19 contests decided by a single score in 2019 and have played 28 contests with a margin of victory of two-or-less. The Rocks are an impressive 22-6 in those close calls including 16-3 in one-run affairs. They are also stellar at holding late leads, going 16-1 when taking an advantage into the eighth inning and 18-0 when leading after eight.
Tuesday marked the Blue Rocks' fourth extra-innings contest in 2019. With the win the Blue Crew evened their record at 2-2 in games not decided in regulation this season.
Wilmington has had an odd schedule to start the 2019 season. Wilmington opened the campaign with a series against Salem and then played 17 consecutive games against CL South opponents. The Rocks went 9-8 during that stretch. The Blue Crew are now in the midst of playing 24 out of 26 against the CL North. The Rocks are 16-6 so far during this divisional-heavy portion of the slate and 16-8 on the year against CL North foes.
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