Blue Rocks Win Offensive Battle in Game 1 Against the Cyclones

On Tuesday, June 14, the Wilmington Blue Rocks returned home after spending two weeks and two away series on the road. They kicked off what is to be an eight-game home stretch with a 6-5 win over the visiting Brooklyn Cyclones.

Both teams began the game with two runs each in the first inning. The Cyclones registered three hits and scored two runs to start their evening, while the Blue Rocks scored the same amount of runs off of a Yasel Antuna single he hit to cap off his first at-bat.

After four innings, both teams remained even with four scores each on the board. Brooklyn was up 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, but Ricardo Mendez hit a double up the first base line that brought in two runs to tie the game once again.

The fifth inning was scoreless, but the sixth inning saw the Cyclones regain the lead and go up 5-4; however, the Blue Rocks came out of that inning with the fans on their feet after only allowing one run in a bases-loaded, no-outs situation.

While Wilmington did not immediately answer back, they eventually did in the eighth frame after Israel Pineda hit a 113 mile per hour double off the bat to left field that drew in Drew Mendoza for the game-tying run. They then took a 6-5 lead after Ricardo Mendez brought in Pineda for his third RBI of the day.

In the top of the ninth, Manager Mario Lisson substituted in closing pitcher Jose Ferrer to try and secure the victory. He was successful, as he only had to face four of Brooklyn’s batters and struck out two of them.

The final was a 6-5 victory for the Blue Rocks.

“The last two weeks have been a long road trip,” said Ricardo Mendez after the game. “It was hard, but we continued, and it felt great to win back at home.”