It was the bottom of the eighth inning in the game between the Wilmington Blue Rocks and the Hudson Valley Renegades. The Renegades had been leading the whole game. The score was 4-3 with Maxwell Romero Jr. on first when T.J. White came up to bat. All it took was one pitch and one swing to turn the game upside down. White hit a no-doubt home run over the right-field wall to take the lead and win the game.

“It felt amazing,” White said. “I was just looking for a pitch in my zone and tried not to miss it. I either knew it was gonna be a home run or a solid line drive off the bat.”

It was a very special day for White, as it was his birthday, and his mom was in attendance. Those two things made his huge moment in the game even better.

“They all feel special, but this one is extra special because she was here,” White said.

White was not the only hero of the eighth inning. Joe Naranjo also hit a huge home run with two outs to start the Blue Rocks’ comeback.

“It felt good to finally put a good swing on one,” Naranjo said. “It brought us a bit closer. T.J. just came in and got the job done behind me.”

It was Naranjo’s second home run of the year and the first with Wilmington. The key to Naranjo’s success going forward is his aggressiveness.

“That last at-bat was aggressive,” Lisson said. “I like to see him be more aggressive. He has been okay, but I think he can be more aggressive, and good things will happen for him.”

“I am always looking to be aggressive,” Naranjo said. “I know they have been trying to pitch me inside. I knew they were gonna throw me a heater, so I got the barrel out and did some damage.”

Romero Jr. was on base and on deck for both home runs.

“The boys in front and behind me did amazing,” Romero Jr. said. “I was just happy to be a part of it.”

Romero Jr. was a part of this win in more ways than he is even giving himself credit for. Without his single, the team would not have taken the lead. His biggest contribution came in the bottom of the sixth when he hit a single off the first baseman’s glove that scored two runs.

Riley Cornelio took the mound today for Wilmington and had a relatively good outing but made two crucial mistakes in the game. One of them was against Jared Serna with a man on base. Serna has given Wilmington trouble all season, with six of his 13 home runs being against the Rocks at Frawley Stadium.

“That pitch was not executed,” Lisson said. “It was right down the middle. We have to execute our pitches well to have a better chance.”

The other mistake was in the top of the fourth when Josh Moylan hit a ball over the centerfield wall to extend the lead to 3-0.

Other than those two mistakes, the team feels like they are seeing progress with Cornelio.

“This was very much a good bounce-back compared to last time,” Lisson said. “His fastball was working a lot better this time. If a pitcher has a good fastball, he has a better shot at being successful.”

With this win, the Blue Rocks move to the .500 mark for the first time in the second half. They are riding a three-game winning streak and will hope to carry this momentum into their 11:00 a.m. game tomorrow.

“A win like today does a lot for our psyche,” White said. “It gives us the ability to know we can come back and do this again tomorrow.”

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