Davian Garcia winds up. - Photo via Ryan Griffith
It’s getting late quickly in Wilmington.
The Blue Rocks find themselves 10 games out of first place after dropping a 4-3 decision to the Hudson Valley Renegades on Wednesday, July 30 at Frawley Stadium. The loss brings Wilmington’s second half record to 13-19 as they continue to lose ground on first place Greensboro in an attempt to clinch the second-half playoff berth currently up for grabs.
It was a rude welcome for Wilmington’s Davian Garcia, who was making his first home start as a Blue Rock after recently being promoted to High-A. The righty gave up a two-run shot in the first inning to Coby Morales before Dillon Lewis caught Garcia in the third with a two-run homer of his own, quickly putting the ‘Rocks in a 4-0 deficit.
Jeremy De La Rosa got two runs back by hitting a two-run homer of his in the home half of the third. From there, the Blue Rocks got five scoreless innings from a combined effort out of Pablo Aldonis and Anthony Arguelles, setting the offense up with plenty of opportunities to retake the lead. Despite getting two runners on in the sixth and loading the bases in the seventh, Wilmington could only muster one run and failed to get a base runner on in the final two frames.
A bright spot came in the leadoff spot in the lineup. Down from Double-A on a rehab assignment, Dont’a Williams reached base in every plate appearance he had, going 2-2 with a double while also drawing two walks and scoring a run. The center fielder gave his first impressions of Wilmington after playing in his second game with the team.
“I played here with Aberdeen before, so ballpark, nothing has changed. It’s the same game,” Williams said. “Phenomonal players, phenomenal coaching staff, it’s great to be around these guys.”
If Wilmington wants to get back in the playoff hunt, they will need similar production from Williams for the remainder of the time he is here. However, Williams’ rehabilitation from an injury is just as important to the organization. Williams talked about how the recovery period has been going.
“It’s gone pretty good. It’s been about 2 ½ months so it’s all been about getting my timing back, getting my feel back. But all glory to God. It’s a great feeling to be back with the guys and playing the game that I love. I’m just taking it one step at a time, one pitch at a time everyday.” Williams said.
After going down 0-2 in the six-game series against Hudson Valley, the ‘Rocks will look to get back into the win column when they take the field on Thursday, July 31.
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