Wilmington Light Up The Night With A 3-1 Victory

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (54-70) took down the Aberdeen IronBirds (64-60) on Friday, Aug. 30 by a final score of 3-1.

There wasn’t much offense to speak of throughout the first five innings for either side, but that narrative changed in the bottom of the sixth when Johnathon Thomas knocked in the game’s first run from second base and advanced to second on the throw home. Then, after advancing to third on a groundout, Thomas showcased his quickness and speed by scoring on a wild pitch that just barely skipped by catcher Aneudis Mordan to make it 2-0.

The Rocks scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Maxwell Romero Jr., and the IronBirds began to put up a fight in the ninth with an RBI single by Thomas Sosa, but it was too little, too late as Luke Young shut the door and Wilmington came away with the 3-1 victory.

After giving up five earned runs on Aug. 24, Jose Atencio bounced back and was dominant against Aberdeen, tossing six scoreless innings while striking out four. Trey Gibson was equally shut-down for the IronBirds, as the 22-year-old went five innings and allowed just one hit and one unearned run while striking out five. Thomas and Romero Jr. knocked in the only runs for Wilmington offensively.

Following this victory, the Blue Rocks have taken a commanding 3-1 series lead against the IronBirds, and will have a chance to secure the series win tomorrow night with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m.