Gavin Dugas’ bases-clearing double in the first inning set the tone for a 6-1 Wilmington Blue Rocks victory over the Aberdeen IronBirds on Wednesday, Aug. 28.

Mikey Tepper drew his first start on the mound at Frawley Stadium, coming off a tough outing in Hudson Valley where he only lasted two innings.

“Yeah, you definitely want to set a good tone for your first start at home,” Tepper said. “I know it’s kind of the end of the season, but I definitely wanted to show them who I am. I thought it was good but could be better.”

Tepper tossed four mostly clean innings, striking out five while securing clutch outs with runners in scoring position throughout. He worked his fastball early and often in counts, locating well and forcing soft contact.

“I think it was my fastball,” Tepper said. “Me getting ahead with the fastball is a big thing, so as I got ahead, I also put away with the fastball. I used the fastball for a majority of the outing, but I was definitely pleased with my outing.”

Tepper also made the play of the night, saving a run after an overthrow from Jared McKenzie in right field. Tepper was backing up Maxwell Romero Jr. behind the plate and sprinted almost to the Aberdeen dugout to retrieve the ball and fire a missile to home to save the run. Not too often will you see a 9-1-2 putout.

“I thought it was awesome, but man, I was tired when I got done with that,” Tepper said. “I was talking to the umpire, and he was saying he’d give me a second to breathe. I definitely needed it because I was out of gas. I think I impressed myself with that, honestly.”

The Rocks’ offense has continued to pick up ever since last week’s Hudson Valley series on the road. Two walks and a single in the first loaded the bases with two outs for Dugas, who hit a hard liner into the left-center field gap for a bases-clearing double, bursting Wilmington into an early 3-0 lead.

“Just trying to get a pitch to hit, and help the team stay on the roll we’re on,” Dugas said. “It’s just competitive at-bats. We’re getting better each and every day. Our work’s been great pregame, so we’re on the right track, we just need to keep swinging it.”

It was only fitting for Dugas to do some damage for the Nationals High-A affiliate on the same day his best friend and college teammate Dylan Crews hit his first major league home run for the major league club. Dugas was shown the clip of Crews’ shot off of Carlos Rodon postgame.

“That’s more of an accomplishment than what I did today,” Dugas said. “We won and that’s what I care about, but at the end of the day, what, did he lead off the game with a homer? Absolutely [I want to see the video]. Against Carlos Rodon, that’s pretty sick. I don’t know if my double can top that one.”

McKenzie also shined, as he had three hits in the game from the leadoff spot. After cooling down for a bit midseason, his bat is active again en route to seven multi-hit games this month.

“It’s always good to see when we can build off each other and get the bats rolling,” McKenzie said. “It’s baseball, but at the end of the day we’re just glad to be out here having fun and playing the game we love.”

One of McKenzie’s hits was a pop-up that right fielder Jake Cunningham lost in the lights. McKenzie plays right field on the other side, so he knows what can happen when the ball flies high in the air at Frawley.

“I didn’t know, but playing here for two years now, there’s a time at night where it gets tough to see,” McKenzie said. “I was lucky to see that drop there, and I almost pulled one of those off myself.”

McKenzie almost lost one in the sky too, but overall he was great in the field, seeming like a magnet as so many balls hit to him throughout the game. His highlight of the night was a catch he made against the wall in right on a possible home run ball, leaping into the fence and embracing the contact to secure the catch.

“No [I didn’t think it was gone], honestly I thought it was going to be a lot more shallow,” McKenzie said. “It kept going, I guess he back-spun it pretty well, but I was able to go back and make a play.”

T.J. White slammed the door shut on the game with a rocket of a home run to right field in the seventh. White’s second-half power surge continues to shine, and his hard work is not going unnoticed.

“With a lot of work, man,” manager Mario Lisson said. “He’s done the work. You have to give it to him. He has kept his head up and worked no matter what. We’re proud of him, absolutely. Very proud of him, and he should be proud of himself with all the work. It’s not easy when you’re struggling getting beat for so long. He kept his head up and worked and now this second half has been a lot better for him.”

The Blue Rocks now lead this six-game series 2-0, and will look to continue to play spoiler against the playoff-contending IronBirds on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 6:35 p.m.

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