Morning Shines Bright For Wilmington In 7-2 Win Over Jersey Shore

WILMINGTON, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks claimed the first game of their series with a 7-2 victory over the Jersey Shore BlueClaws on Education Day at Frawley Stadium.

Jersey Shore struck first in the top of the first inning. In just the second at-bat of the game, Pierce Bennett launched a fly ball over the left-field wall to give the BlueClaws a 1-0 lead.

The Blue Rocks responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Brenner Cox led off with a single, and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with no outs. That brought Branden Boissiere to the plate, who ripped a double into the right-center field gap to score two runs.

“Like our skipper says, ‘you have to score runs to win the game anyway,’” Boissere said. “It is about sticking with it and competing together, which we did.”

Another walk reloaded the bases with no outs for Brandon Pimental, who delivered a single between the first and second basemen to plate two more. Wilmington added a fifth run in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Dugas, scoring Elijah Green and giving the Blue Rocks a 5-1 advantage.

In the next half-inning, the BlueClaws cut into the lead. Bryson Ware doubled to start the frame, and Cole Roberts followed with a single to score Ware, making it 5-2.

The Blue Rocks extended their lead in the bottom of the second. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases with no outs for Elijah Green, who came through with an RBI single to restore the four-run cushion.

“I was trying to find my pitch,” Green said. “If I get my pitch, I am going to do some damage.”

Wilmington added one more insurance run in the bottom of the fourth, when Dugas collected another RBI on his second sacrifice fly of the game.

Other than the two early mistakes, Blue Rocks starter Jackson Kent turned in a solid performance. He finished the day with 5.1 innings pitched, allowing seven hits, two runs, three walks, and striking out six.

With the win, Wilmington snapped a five-game losing streak and now leads the series 1-0. The two teams will meet again tomorrow in a doubleheader, with first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at Frawley Stadium.