Blue Rocks Split Doubleheader Against Hub City

WILMINGTON, Del. - The Wilmington Blue Rocks and Hub City Spartanburgers split their double header on Saturday at Frawley Stadium, losing game one 3-1 while taking game two 6-0.

Game 1

Riley Cornelio made his second start of the season for the Blue Rocks. In the top of the first with runners on first and second with one out, Cornelio induced a foul out to third and a strikeout to end the Spartanburger’s threat.

Wilmington struck first in the bottom of the third. After the first two batters reached base, T.J White hit a ball back up the middle to score Murphy Stehly from second. The RBI single was White’s first RBI of the season. Wilmington could not break the inning open however, as Hub City’s starter David Davalillo retired the next two batters to escape the inning down one run.

Looking for a shutdown inning in the top of the fourth, Cornelio delivered. After retiring the first two batters in the inning, Cornelio struck out Hub City’s Gleider Figuereo to end the inning and match his career high in strikeouts with eight.

In the bottom of the fourth, Wilmington chased Davalillo from the game after a single from Brenner Cox. The Blue Rocks were able to load the bases with two outs after Matt Suggs walked and Stehly was hit by a pitch. The Blue Rocks couldn’t put any runs on the board however, as Jared McKenzie grounded out to third to end the inning.

Cornelio finally blinked in the top of the fifth, allowing back-to-back singles to start off the inning before a Dylan Dreiling sacrifice fly knotted the game at one. Cornelio rebounded, striking out Malcolm Moore to keep the game tied at one. The strikeout made it Cornelio’s 10th of the game and set a new career-high in Ks.

“It definitely felt like stuff was working,” Cornelio said. “It was nice to be back in Wilmington and throw a little bit better than last game.”

In the top of the sixth, Bubba Hall came on in relief for Cornelio. After two batters reached base via a walk and error, Hub City’s Keith Jones II smacked a bases-clearing double down the right field line to give the Spartanburgers a 3-1 lead. The Blue Rocks were able to record the final out of the inning thanks to an over the shoulder catch in left field by Cox, holding Hub City to two runs in the sixth.

The Rocks threatened in the bottom of the sixth, after Stehly was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with two outs. Wilmington couldn’t put more runs on the board though, as McKenzie grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.

Wilmington’s last chance came in the bottom of the seventh. Despite walks by T.J White and Elijah Green, the Blue Rocks could not score any runs as Cox grounded out to first to end the abbreviated game.

Game 2

Jackson Kent took the mound for Wilmington, making just his second professional start. In the top of the first, Kent recorded two strikeouts and despite allowing a single, only faced the minimum thanks to Caleb Lomavita throwing out Hub City’s Anthony Gutierrez at second base.

The Blue Rocks threatened in the bottom of the third when Gavin Dugas advanced to second base on a fielder’s choice. However, Hub City’s starter D.J McCarty struck out Seaver King to end the Wilmington threat and keep the game scoreless through three.

Kent continued his dominant outing, striking out the side in the top of the fourth. Wilmington’s offense broke through in a big way in their half of the fourth. With runners on second and third, Brandon Pimentel cleared the bases on a double hit to left field. The Pimentel RBI’s made the score 2-0. After a Marcus Brown single advanced Pimentel to third, a throwing error by Hub City catcher Julian Brock in an attempt to catch Brown stealing allowed Pimentel to score and increased the lead to three. An ensuing walk by Gavin Dugas spelled the end of McCarty’s night.

Later in the inning with bases loaded, a sharply hit ball by T.J White resulted in an error at third base, as the ball bounced under Spartanburger’s Gleider Figuereo’s glove and into left field. Brown scored while another error in left field allowed Dugas to score as well. White was thrown out trying to make it to second but the results of the play made it a 5-0 ballgame.

“It was a good moment for me and a good moment for the team,” White said. “I think it kickstarted our offense and got us going.”

Hub City reliever Josh Mollerus retired King to end the inning but the five runs scored by the Blue Rocks marked a season-high for runs scored in an inning.

The top of the fifth would mark Kent’s final inning of work. Kent retired the side, striking out the final batter of the inning and setting a career-high in strikeouts with nine. After allowing a single to the second batter of the game, Kent retired the next 13 batters he faced. His performance also meant three straight games of Wilmington starting pitches going at least five innings, allowing a run or less and striking at least nine batters.

“I trusted in what I saw from Riley earlier today and his stuff,” Kent said. “He gave me a good plan to go after those guys and that’s what I did.”

Wilmington scored an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy of a Jonathan Thomas RBI single to center field. The Blue Rocks couldn’t tack on more runs however, stranding runners at first and second with the score remaining 6-0.

Samuel Vasquez came on in the seventh to close out the game for Wilmington and after allowing a couple of base runners was aided by a fantastic catch in right field by Thomas to seal the 6-0 victory.

The split moved Wilmington's record to 2-6 and the win in game two marked Kent’s first win as a professional starting pitcher. The Blue Rocks will play their final game of the homestand against Hub City on Sunday afternoon, April 13, at Frawley Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.