Fireworks, Fans, Fun - The Final 2024 Series at Frawley Stadium

The past week marked the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ final home series of the 2024 season. They hosted the Aberdeen Ironbirds in the teams’ fifth and last meeting of the year and split the series 3-3. Ahead of the homestand, the Blue Rocks still had a slim chance to make the playoffs, while Aberdeen was just three games back, making these six games pivotal for both teams.

Game 1 (Tuesday)

Riley Cornelio kicked off the series and earned his seventh win of the year as the Blue Rocks’ starting pitcher Tuesday night. Cornelio allowed five earned runs through five innings, but struck out seven batters and was heavily supported by Wilmington’s offense. The Blue Rocks had 14 hits including two RBIs from Branden Boissiere and two from Armando Cruz. A two-run home run by Jared McKenzie sealed the 9-5 win, starting the home team off on the right foot and crushing an 11-game losing streak.

Game 2 (Wednesday)

The Blue Rocks’ Wednesday night win featured right-hander Mikey Tepper’s first game at Frawley Stadium. He and the bullpen held Aberdeen to seven hits and one run, while Wilmington’s bats stayed hot. TJ White picked up his 14th home run of the season and Gavin Dugas recorded three RBIs. The 6-1 win marked right-handed reliever Austin Amaral’s first High-A win since being called up from Fredericksburg in mid-August.

Game 3 (Thursday)

Despite starting the series off hot with 15 runs in the first two games, the Blue Rocks were unable to find the answer to Thursday night’s matchup. They fell 4-2 in the loss to the Ironbirds, officially eliminating them from playoff contention. Bryan Caceres went six innings as the Game 3 starter (3 H, 1 ER, 7 SO) but Wander Arias allowed two runs that earned him the loss. Wilmington’s offense struggled as well with only five hits from four total batters.

Game 4 (Friday)

Jose Atencio headlined the Blue Rocks’ 3-1 win with four strikeouts, five hits allowed and zero runs through six innings. Similar to Thursday night, hits were few and far between, but they were much more effective. Johnathon Thomas recorded an RBI-single and Maxwell Romero Jr. hit a sac-fly to capitalize on runners in scoring position. To close out the win, the Blue Rocks honored Pediatric Brain Cancer patients with a stunning lantern ceremony followed by the final Friday night fireworks show of the season.

Game 5 (Saturday)

Jarlin Susana, recently named 96th in the 2024 MLB Prospect Rankings, got the nod for Saturday night’s matchup. The high-velocity pitcher recorded ten strikeouts in five innings, allowing two earned runs. Unfortunately, the Blue Rocks were unable to find their footing in the batter’s box and came up scoreless with just five hits against Aberdeen. The Ironbirds took Game 5 with a final score of 2-0.

Game 6 (Sunday)

The Blue Rocks put on quite the show for the fans who came to Frawley Stadium for the final game of the series and final home game of the season. Riley Cornelio struck out seven batters through seven innings and allowed just eight hits, one earned run, and one walk for one of his best starts of the year. The bats heated up once again with 11 total hits and six runs in the third inning courtesy of RBIs from four different Blue Rocks batters. The 7-1 win and home season was sealed with the final fireworks show of the year.

Looking Ahead

While there is no more action at Frawley Stadium this season, the team is on the road to take on the Brooklyn Cyclones. In Wilmington’s last series against Brooklyn, a mid-August homestand, the Blue Rocks fell 1-5. They are 10-11 against the Cyclones this year heading into this final roadtrip.