Aguilar & Belonis Lead Mudcats in 7-4 Victory

WILMINGTON, DE. - Ryan Aguilar went 3-for-3 with a two-run triple, Carlos Belonis went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Trey Supak pitched through 5.0 scoreless innings with six strikeouts as the Mudcats earned a series tying 7-4 victory versus the Blue Rocks on Tuesday night at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington.

The Mudcats (7-6) led 2-0 after two, before breaking the game open with five runs on six hits in the third off Blue Rocks (5-7) starter Jace Vines. Vines (0-3, 15.19) allowed seven runs and 10 hits over just three innings while suffering the loss in game two of the three game series. 
Supak (1-0, 0.60) meanwhile earned his first win of the season after holding the Blue Rocks scoreless over five full innings. Supak struck out six, walked one and gave up just three hits in the road victory. He also took full advantage of the early run support give to him as the Mudcats scored twice in the second and added five more runs in the third while taking an early 7-0 lead.
Carolina's two run second included a RBI single from Belonis and a run scoring double play hit into by Dallas Carroll. The five-run third, meanwhile, began with back-to-back doubles from Ronnie Gideon and Clint Coulter and continued with a run scoring single from Weston Wilson. Vines went on retire Luis Aviles Jr. Jr. and Max McDowell on line outs in the infield, but then gave up Aguilar's run scoring triple and a run scoring double to Belonis. Carroll then finished the rally by ripping a RBI single to left, but was caught off first following the hit to end the inning.
The Mudcats totaled seven runs on nine hits over the first three innings of Tuesday's series tying victory, but did not score again as relievers Matt Wynne (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 SO), Nolan Becker (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 SO) and Grant Gavin (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 SO) went on to hold the Carolina offense quiet the rest of the way. 
While the Blue Rocks pen kept the Mudcats in check, reliever Luke Barker did the same to the Wilmington offense while maintaining Carolina's 7-0 lead through the eighth. Barker pitched through three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts.
Barker left after the eighth with a 7-0 lead, but the Blue Rocks would bounce back with four runs and five hits in the ninth off left-handed reliever Daniel Brown. The ninth inning rally began with a single to left-center from Gabriel Cancel and continued with a Khalil Lee infield single, a one-out run scoring single from Chris DeVito, a two-run double from Meibrys Viloria and a RBI single from Kort Peterson. 
In all, the Blue Rocks totaled five hits in the ninth against Brown and managed to score four runs against him before the Mudcats pulled him for reliever Chase Williams. Brown (0.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB) left with two men on base, but Williams (S, 1) stranded both after retiring two of the three he faced to end the game. The game's final out came when Williams struck out Cancel struck out with the bases loaded in the ninth.
The Mudcats went 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base in the victory. They also totaled 15 hits, including four doubles and a triple in the Tuesday night victory. It was their second road win of the season and the victory evened the current series at 1-1 with the finale scheduled for Wednesday morning at 10:35 a.m. in Wilmington. Left-hander Nathan Kirby (0-1, 11.25) is scheduled to start Wednesday morning's finale against righty Ofriedy Gomez (0-0, 4.91) and the Blue Rocks. 
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