DeVito posts Blue Rocks' first cycle in 18 years

If Chris DeVito was going to fail in his bid to notch the first cycle of his career, he had teammate Brandon Downes squarely in his sights. As it turned out, the 22-year-old succeeded, just one pitch after he jokingly thought to himself his shot at the record books was gone.
DeVito became the first Carolina League player to hit for the cycle this season and tied his career high with four hits on Friday in Class A Advanced Wilmington's 12-6 win over Winston-Salem at BB&T Ballpark. 

The Blue Rocks scored seven times and sent 13 batters to the plate in the top of the first inning and totaled 17 hits, one night after scoring nine runs and collecting 14 hits in a 9-6 win over the Dash.
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Needing a home run to complete the cycle, DeVito watched from the on-deck circle as Downes went deep in the sixth, leaving him with some tongue-in-cheek thoughts for his teammate as he rounded the bases.
"I knew that I needed [the homer] when I came up that inning," said DeVito, a California native. "But I saw Downes go deep and I said to myself, 'He took it away from me.' Going back-to-back is not exactly common, so I thought I had no shot."

DeVito shrugged off those doubts and blasted Colin Rogers' first pitch over the right-center field fence to become the first Blue Rock to hit for the cycle since Dee Brown on April 18, 1999. 

"We were all pumped. Everyone was excited when I got back to the dugout," DeVito said. "I have some great teammates who are very supportive. It was a pretty cool thing to do tonight."
The University of New Mexico product singled to right and scored on Nathan Esposito's base hit during Wilmington's seven-run first. He tripled to right leading off the second but was stranded. DeVito laced his seventh double of the season to right in the fourth before completing the cycle with his 14th roundtripper in the sixth.
"That triple was what surprised me," said DeVito, who had no triples in 110 games since the Royals took him in the eighth round of last year's Draft. "It was pretty cool. I think I've hit maybe three triples since I first picked up a bat. I almost pulled up [at second] on the triple, but then I figured, 'What the heck, I'll go for it.' It worked out for me and I'm happy we won."
The 220-pound first baseman had two chances to collect a fifth hit, but he grounded out to end the eighth and again in the ninth with the bases loaded. His other four-hit game came on May 8 with Class A Lexington.
"I really wished I could have picked up that last hit with the bases loaded there," DeVito said. "But it was a good time tonight and still a pretty good game." 
DeVito has had a few pretty good games this season. He batted .347/.374/.702 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs in 30 games with Lexington before he was promoted to Wilmington on May 11. After hitting .241 in his first 16 games in the Carolina League, he's 9-for-21 with five extra-base hits and three RBIs in his last five contests to bring his average up to .291.
"There was a little adjustment period, but the guys in the clubhouse helped me a lot after I came up," DeVito said. "The vets on this team really helped and I'm super-excited to be here." 

In addition to his homer, Downes singled and drove in a season-high four runs. Royals No. 23 prospectNicky Lopez went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk and three RBIs.
No. 18 White Sox prospectTrey Michalczewski and Brady Conlan had three hits apiece for Winston-Salem.