Wilmington's Offensive Woes Continue in Fifth Straight Setback

Wilmington, DE - Jackson Kowar equaled the longest start this season by a Blue Rock, but the Wilmington offense failed to take advantage in a 6-2 loss to the Winston-Salem Dash on Tuesday at Frawley Stadium. Kowar allowed just two runs over seven frames, but the Blue Crew attack mustered only four hits. The defeat was the fifth in a row for the Rocks and assured them a second consecutive series setback.

Kowar fanned five. He did issue three free passes, but yielded only six hits. The Dash managed just single tallies against him in the second and sixth innings. Craig Dedelow got Winston-Salem on the board in the second with a solo homer, while Jameson Fisher scored on a Kowar wild pitch in the sixth.
Wilmington drew even after both scores. Crisitan Perez plated the first run with a seeing-eye single to right and MJ Melendez  tied the game at two when he came home on a wild pitch in the seventh.
A critical error by the Blue Crew in the eighth put Winston-Salem ahead to stay. Collin Snider  threw away Carlos Perez's grounder back to the mound, which allowed two runs to score. Yeyson Yrizarri added an insurance tally with an RBI-single later in the inning and Jameson Fisher capped the scoring with an RBI-double in the ninth.
Snider (2-1) took the loss, allowing three unearned runs in his lone frame. Codi Heuer (1-0) did not allow an earned run in two innings to pick up the win out of the bullpen for Winston-Salem.
Wilmington concludes its seven-game homestand on Wednesday at Frawley Stadium as the Rocks host the Dash for the final time this season. Left-hander Marcelo Martinez (1-0, 0.00) gets the ball for the Rocks. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. and tickets are available at BlueRocks.com. Fans who can't make it out to the ballpark can catch all the action with the Voice of the Blue Rocks Cory Nidoh on 89.7 WGLS-FM or BlueRocks.com.
PEBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE:
The Blue Crew have not been able to buy a big hit over the last five games. Wilmington has gone just 3-for-41 with runners in scoring position since Saturday. On the year the Rocks are hitting only .157 with men at second and/or third base. Overall, the struggling Rocks' offense is last in the Carolina League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 2019. Wilmington has not scored more than four runs in a game since April 15.
Ricky Aracena  has been the one Blue Rock finding success of late at the plate. The infielder went 1-for-3 on Tuesday and extended his season-long hitting streak to five games. During that stretch Aracena is batting a robust .571 (8-for-14).
The Blue Rocks continue to struggle defensively in 2019. Wilmington committed an error for the seventh consecutive game. The Blue Crew is last in the Carolina League with 30 total errors as a team. The team has committed at least three errors in five different games and at least one defensive miscue in all but four contests this year.
Wilmington may call the Carolina League's Northern Division home, but in the early part of the season the Blue Crew will be much more familiar with the CL South. The Rocks wrap up a string of 17 consecutive games against southern division foes on Wednesday. Wilmington swept a three-game series at home against the Dash and then took three of four at Carolina before taking two of three at Winston-Salem. The Rocks dropped a four-game series at home against Down East and are in the midst of welcoming the Dash back to Frawley Stadium for three more. Wilmington is currently 10-6 during this long stretch of southern hospitality.
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