Strong performances from Henry Owens, Garin Cecchini, and Keury De La Cruz highlighted the Salem Red Sox’s dominant 8-1 triumph over Wilmington on Tuesday night. Owens, the stringy southpaw, blanked the Blue Rocks over six awesome innings, while Cecchini launched a two-run blast in the first to put the Sox in front. In the second, De La Cruz blasted a two-out grand slam to boost Salem’s lead to 8-zip, providing more than enough offense with Owens and two relievers taking care of business on the mound.
Owens pitched well in each of his first three outings, but failed to earn a win until Tuesday night, when he surrendered just three hits, all singles, in six scoreless innings. He retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced, getting stronger as the game progressed. Overall, Owens finished with six strikeouts and one walk, dealing 53 of his 82 pitches for strikes.
Offensively, Cecchini provided the initial jolt against Blue Rocks starter Aaron Brooks. With a man at second base in the last of the first, Cecchini thought he had walked when a borderline 3-1 pitch was ruled a strike. With the count full, he unloaded on the next delivery, crushing a two-run line drive homer over the right field fence. His second home run of the year had given Salem a 2-0 lead.
In the last of the second, newcomer Bryan Johns smashed an RBI double off the left field wall to make it 3-0, while Nick Natoli singled to move Johns to third and Cecchini singled to bring him in, boosting the Sox to a 4-0 edge. Brandon Jacobs drew a walk to load the bases, and then De La Cruz smoked a deep drive a right-center field, carrying over the wall for Salem’s first grand slam of the season. It was the first round tripper of the year for De La Cruz, and it doubled Salem’s lead from four to eight.
Leading 8-0 after two, Owens attacked the zone and yielded just two singles and one hit-by-pitch in his final four frames on the hill. In relief, Noe Ramirez surrendered three singles in the seventh that became Wilmington’s only run. Nate Striz pitched around a leadoff double in the ninth, recording the final three outs in succession after the hit to close it out.
Every member of the Red Sox lineup reached base, with all but Jacobs recording a hit. Jacobs, meanwhile, drew three walks. Cecchini (three) and De La Cruz (four) combined for seven of Salem’s eight RBI, helping Salem bat 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Having split the first two games of the series, the Sox and Rocks will square off again on Wednesday night in a 7:05 tilt that features a pair of righties named Kyle. Kyle Stroup will make his fourth start for Salem opposite Wilmington’s Kyle Zimmer, who entered the year as the top overall prospect in Kansas City’s farm system.
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