Wacky weather paraded through the Roanoke Valley on Monday afternoon, and things only got crazier when the ballgame began amidst clear skies and the Salem Red Sox delivered a snowman in the first.
The Sox knocked the Blue Rocks starter out of the game before he recorded an out, scoring eight times in the opening inning en route to a dominant 9-0 rout over Wilmington in the series opener at LewisGale Field. Henry Owens, Matty Ott, and Noe Ramirez combined on the five-hit shutout, striking out ten, while Henry Ramos blasted his fourth homer in his last seven games, a three-run launch that helped the Sox stampede over the Rocks.
Wilmington starter Sam Selman faced eight batters and recorded zero outs, surrendering four hits and two walks while his defense made two errors behind him. Felix Sanchez reached on an error to start the game and moved to third on a successful hit-and-run, with Deven Marrero singling to right field. Garin Cecchini walked to load the bases, and Keury De La Cruz drew another walk to force in the first run. Blake Swihart hammered a one-hopper to third, which Cheslor Cuthbert misplayed for his second error in the inning. With the score 2-0 and the bases still loaded, Salem made it 3-0 on Selman’s wild pitch, and the lead doubled to 6-0 on Ramos’ towering home run to left field. Stefan Welch continued the rally with a single up the middle, and he scored on David Renfroe’s double that was rocketed to the wall in left-center.
Down 7-0, Selman finally departed and Malcom Culver navigated the Blue Rocks out of the first, but not before Renfroe scored from third on a passed ball by Parker Morin. Selman was charged with eight runs (five earned), continuing his nightmare performances against Salem this year. In three starts against the Sox, Morin is 0-3 with an ERA of 24.00 (16 ER/6 IP).
While the Sox were scoring all their runs, Owens retreated to the bullpen to warm up again following his perfect first. He pitched around baserunners in each of his next four frames, but repeatedly escaped unscathed, completing five scoreless with 84 pitches and 57 strikes. He yielded just four hits and one walk, striking out five. In relief, Ott permitted just one baserunner in three dominant innings, striking out five, while Ramirez dealt a perfect ninth to finish the shutout.
Ramos, Welch, and Renfroe all registered multi-hit nights, while none of the Blue Rocks mustered more than one knock.
Salem and Wilmington will reunite on Tuesday, with William Cuevas scheduled to pitch against Tyler Sample. First pitch is slated for 7:05.
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Chris Graham
