The Wilmington Blue Rocks took on the Jersey Shore BlueClaws in a packed Frawley Stadium on the day before the Fourth of July. A car show and fireworks were scheduled for after the game. Unfortunately for the Blue Rocks and their fans, they were unable to secure a win as Wilmington fell to Jersey Shore by a score of 8-4.

Jose Atencio had a good start for the Blue Rocks despite the BlueClaws scoring seven runs in his 5.2 innings of work. Despite what the box score may show, only one of them was attributed to Atencio. Whether it was a Jeremy De La Rosa error in center field where he dropped the ball, two Kevin Made errors at shortstop, or a Viandel Pena error at second base, the Blue Rocks defense did Atencio no favors in this one.

“He did a good job out there,” manager Mario Lisson said. “The defense just has to be better for him. We gave the other team extra outs. Good teams will always capitalize on that. He did his job, though; he attacked the strike zone. He has done that all year.”

The pitcher for Jersey Shore, Casey Steward, was making just his second start at High-A. It was also his first time facing Wilmington. The lead-off man for Wilmington, Phillip Glasser, ambushed him early, swinging at the first pitch and getting a double to lead off the inning.

“It looked like a pitch I could drive,” Glasser said. “I just checked my swing at the first and got lucky with a double. I am always looking for a pitch I can drive.”

Glasser has been on fire recently for the team. He has a hit in 12 out of his last 14 games and had a home run on Monday and two more hits in this game.

“I have just been looking for pitches I can drive,” Glasser said. “Also just trying to figure out what the pitchers are trying to do. Hit or no hit, always striving to have a good at-bat.”

Viandel Pena followed up Glasser’s bloop double with a bloop single of his own to put runners on second and third. Murphy Stehly then hit a sacrifice fly to score Glasser from third.

Steward threw only nine pitches against the six Blue Rocks batters he faced in the first.

“We are always ready to hit the fastball in the zone,” Lisson said. “That is our approach, and we will continue to do that.”

Steward and the rest of the BlueClaws’ pitching staff settled in though and kept the Blue Rocks off the board until the eighth.

Joe Narnajo hit a double to score Made, making it an 8-3 game. But things got really interesting in the bottom of the ninth when three singles from Maxwell Romero Jr., Pena, and Stehly made the score 8-4. One walk later, and the team suddenly found themselves with two chances to tie or win the game but De La Rosa and Made were unable to get on base, ending the game in the BlueClaws’ favor.

With the team traveling to Jersey Shore for the rest of this split series, they hope to keep the momentum going from the bottom of the ninth inning.

“That is what we always try to do,” Lisson said. “Try to take quality at-bats and continue it the next day.”

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