WILMINGTON, Del —The Wilmington Blue Rocks defeated the Asheville Tourists on Friday, 7-6, in an extra innings thriller at Frawley Stadium. 

The two teams exchanged punches all game long until the bottom of the twelfth. Second baseman Devin Fitz-Gerald drew a walk, and both he and right fielder Elijah Nunez, who was the ghost runner, moved into scoring positions after a wild pitch. 

Shortstop Ronny Cruz struck out, and third baseman Angel Feliz grounded out to third, in which Nunez was able to score, and Fitz-Gerald moved to third. First baseman Ethan Petry came up to bat, but was intentionally walked. 

This left center fielder Elijah Green to step up at the dish, with two outs, and one swing of the bat to end the game. 

Green had a rollercoaster of a game, with his first three at-bats being strikeouts.

However, just two innings ago, in the bottom of the tenth, Green was able to secure a triple to tie the game, scoring Nunez. 

This at-bat, with the first pitch he saw, lined a ball to left field for a single and scored Fitz-Gerald. 

“Once they walked Pet [Petry] I knew it was my opportunity, and I think I just took advantage of the opportunity I had,” said Green. 

Right-handed reliever Brady Hill came into the game in the top of the tenth inning, and pitched two solid innings, punching out four Tourists batters. 

“All glory to God, you know, we’re not in this position without him, and we have a great coaching staff, great bullpen that kept us in the game,” said Hill. 

Hill’s last pitch was a 98 mile per hour fastball for a strikeout. 

“Just attacking the zone. They were swinging, and like I said all praise to the coaching staff,” said Hill. 

After a tough loss the previous day, this was a much needed win for Wilmington. 

“I think it’s important that you have a short memory and you just come out and show up the next day,” said manager Ted Tom. “If you get stuck on the last game, it’s going to wear you out.” 

Blue Rocks first baseman Ethan Petry also continues to remain hot, as he blasted a two-run home-run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Wilmington a, 4-0, lead. 

They would hold that lead until Tourists catcher Jason Schiavone would tie it in the top of the sixth with a three-run home-run. 

But the Blue Rocks stayed in the fight even after giving up the lead. 

“It’s just keeping things in a positive nature,” said Tom. “Talking and affirmations, making sure that the guys understand that the game is really hard, so we don’t need to bury ourselves.” 

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