Blue Rocks Comeback Falls Short In 5-4 Loss

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (15-14) dropped the series finale against the Hudson Valley Renegades (13-16) on Sunday, July 21 by a final score of 5-4 at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium.

After a quiet first inning at the plate, both the Renegades and Blue Rocks came out on fire in the second. With two on and two out in the top half of the inning, Anthony Hall dribbled a double down the left field line that scored Josh Moylan from second and put two runners in scoring position. Then, a self-inflicted error was committed by Wilmington starter Riley Cornelio, as the 24-year-old balked while Cole Gabrielson broke for home, which made it a 2-0 game.

The Blue Rocks didn’t face an early deficit for long though, as they had a nearly identical sequence as the Renegades in the bottom half of the inning. Marcus Brown stepped up to the plate with two on and two out and ripped a double down the right field line that cleared the bases and scored two, tying the game.

Two innings later in the bottom of the fourth, T.J. White continued his red-hot July by crushing a line-drive home run over the right field wall, his eighth of the year to put the Blue Rocks in front, 3-2.

Wilmington’s good fortune was quickly halted, as Hudson Valley immediately retook the lead in the top of the fifth. Hall led off the inning with a triple, and later scored following the second balk of the game by Cornelio. In the same at-bat, Garrett Martin roped a single into right field that scored Roc Riggio and made it 4-3.

The Renegades added an insurance run in the top of the sixth thanks to Josh Moylan’s sixth bomb of the season, and it was much needed as Wilmington threatened in the bottom of the ninth by cutting the deficit to 5-4 and then stranding the tying run on third.

Cornelio made it through five innings on the mound, allowing five hits and four runs while both striking out and walking two. White put together a multi-hit game at the plate, including his homer, while Brown added two more RBIs and Phillip Glasser recorded one.

Hudson Valley starter Baron Stuart departed following four innings of three-run ball, and the bullpen shut the door from that point forward, allowing just one run on three hits in five innings while striking out six. Moylan, Gabrielson and Hall all recorded multiple hits at the plate.

Despite the loss, the Blue Rocks still won the series 4-2, marking their third consecutive series victory. Overall, the Rocks have gone 13-8 in the month of July and sit just three games back of Greensboro for first place in the South Atlantic League. Manager Mario Lisson and company will now set their sights on a six-game road series against the Aberdeen IronBirds beginning on Tuesday, July 30.