Buoyed by six straight hitters reaching with two outs in the fifth, the Wilmington Blue Rocks erased an early deficit and knocked off the Salem Red Sox 7-5 on Friday night at Frawley Stadium.
Salem jumped out to an early three-run lead in the top of the first inning thanks to five singles against Alec Mills. The first three batters of the game recorded hits, capped by Cole Sturgeon’s RBI single scoring Mauricio Dubon. With two away in the frame, Forrestt Allday and Zach Kapstein notched back-to-back RBI infield singles, pushing Salem in front 3-0.
Wilmington rallied in the last of the first with a pair of tallies. Carlos Garcia singled to start, advanced to third on back-to-back wild pitches and scored on a Jack Lopez sacrifice fly. Mauricio Ramos then singled, move to third on a single and scored on a Elier Hernandez sacrifice fly, cutting the lead to 3-2.
Teddy Stankiewicz battled back to set down the next 12 hitters until there were two outs in the last of the fifth. Garcia then reached on a bunt single before Lopez walked. Then, Ramos cranked an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for a three-run shot, putting the Blue Rocks ahead 5-3. The next two hitters reached, ending Stankiewicz’s day.
Kyle Kraus came out of the bullpen and ceded a two-run double to Cam Gallagher that pushed Wilmington’s advantage to 7-3.
Salem cut into the lead in the eighth on back-to-back doubles from Mario Martinez and Mike Meyers, the latter of which picked up an RBI. Meyers would later score on an RBI groundout from Kapstein. Down by a pair, the Sox got the leadoff man on in the ninth, but Estarlin Cordero recorded three straight flyouts to earn his ninth save.
Stankiewicz (3-11) was lifted after 4.2 innings while taking the loss. He allowed seven runs, all earned, on seven hits with a walk and a strikeout. Kraus tossed 3.1 scoreless frames of relief.
Mills started for Wilmington and lasted only four innings, giving up three runs on seven hits. Luis Rico (7-8) earned the victory with three shutout innings of relief.
Salem pounded out 13 hits on the night, led by Cerse’s three singles. Dubon, Martinez and Meyers each picked up a pair of hits while Kapstein drove in two in a 1-for-4 night.
The Sox’ seventh straight loss dropped their record to 55-68 overall and 17-36 in the second half. The Blue Rocks improved to 57-66 and 18-34 in the half.
The series continues on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Kevin McAvoy (8-9, 4.06) is scheduled to toe the rubber for Salem against Wilmington’s Zach Lovvorn (3-3, 3.61). Fans can listen to the game on 1240 AM ESPN Roanoke, online at salemsox.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
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