After being shut out the night before, the Wilmington Blue Rocks entered their Wednesday, Aug. 14 game with one specific goal: get the offense going early against the Brooklyn Cyclones. They did just that, taking home a 6-4 win.

“We struggled yesterday,” Murphy Stehly said. “We did not want to panic out here today and make the same mistakes. So we were in attack mode in the first inning, trying to avoid repeating the mistakes we made yesterday.”

The Rocks got started with a single from Robert Hassell III, followed by two more singles, one of which was from Jared McKenzie, who earned an RBI when Hassell III came around to score.

McKenzie, coming into this game, had not had the best July and August but is hoping this game can be a catalyst for him moving forward.

“I had a little injury,” McKenzie said. “I think I’m back into the swing of things. I’m just trying to be myself and repeat that every day. It is a game of ups and downs.”

Murphy Stehly stepped up to the plate and drove a ball deep into right field that turned into a triple and ended up scoring both runners.

“I’ve been feeling really good about myself recently,” Stehly said. “I’ve been working on some things with my coaches. I struggled yesterday but feel really good about today. Today was a really good sign for me going forward.”

His manager, Mario Lisson, liked his approach in that particular at-bat.

“He was trying to go the other way today,” Lisson said. “When he goes toward centerfield and the opposite field, that’s when he finds the most success. So hopefully, he can continue to do that going forward.”

Although the Rocks put together a good first inning, they struggled on offense in the next several frames.

“We did a little better [with] attacking balls in the zone today,” Lisson said. “We attacked the starter early. We cannot take our foot off the gas. In the second through fourth innings, we were late on the fastball.”

Jarlin Susana was on the mound for the Blue Rocks and cruised through his first four innings of work, striking out seven compared to just two walks.

However, once Susana reached the fifth inning, he struggled to find the strike zone. He walked three in the inning and allowed four runs. The Nationals’ No. 4 ranked prospect did not make it out of the inning.

“His stuff was fine at that point in the game,” Lisson said. “He was just missing pitches. Right now, it is a good thing that he has to go through some struggles and find ways to get out of them.”

With Brooklyn holding the lead going into the top of the sixth, the Blue Rocks knew they had to strike back. Roismar Quintana, who was batting in the two-hole because of his success against lefties this year, drove a double over the left fielder’s head. Stehly then walked for the second time in the game, which brought up T.J. White, who hit a grounder to shortstop. An overthrow allowed Quintana and Stehly to score, giving the lead back to Wilmington.

Stehly made no shortage of clever baserunning decisions throughout the game.

“I like to think I am fast,” Stehly said. “Not many people think so, but I believe I am a little fast.”

McKenzie was later able to record one more RBI to extend the lead to 6-4 and seal the game for Wilmington.

There was a magician who visited the Blue Rocks players before the game, and McKenzie thinks maybe that had something to do with his success.

“I made him hold my bat, so maybe that’s why I got two hits today,” McKenzie said.

Miguel Gomez came in and got the save for Wilmington, tying the series at 1-1 against the Cyclones.

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