Wilmington Caps Off Greenville Series With 5-4 Win

The Wilmington Blue Rocks defeated the Greenville Drive by a final score of 5-4 on Sunday, April 21 at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. The win marked the Rocks’ fourth straight and second consecutive series victory at home to open the season.

Wilmington opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Viandel Pena got things started with his third double of the year, and then advanced to third on a groundout and later scored on another groundout by Kevin Made.

The Rocks’ offense sputtered from that point forward, not recording another hit until the fifth inning, where they were able to add some cushion to their lead. John McHenry scored on an error after his leadoff double, Marcus Brown scored from third on a wild pitch, and Daylen Lile capped things off with an RBI double to make it a 4-0 game.

In the top of the sixth, Greenville began to chip away at its deficit. Wilmington’s bullpen walked six batters in the frame, and the Drive scored three runs solely off walks. Cutter Coffey then drove in another run with an RBI single to cap a four-run inning and make it a tie game.

The Blue Rocks responded by tying the knot on the contest in the bottom of the seventh, as the speedy Johnathon Thomas got hit by a pitch, stole second and later stole home to give Wilmington a 5-4 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Rocks only mustered three hits on the day, courtesy of Pena, Lile and McHenry. Rodney Theophile had another good outing on the bump, pitching five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, three walks and striking out five. Todd Pederson slammed the door shut on the Drive in the ninth to record his fifth save of the season.

The Blue Rocks now sport an 11-4 record, which is best in the Southern Atlantic League. Up next for Wilmington is a six-game road trip against the Brooklyn Cyclones beginning on Tuesday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m. EDT.