WILMINGTON, Del. (6/26) – The Wilmington Blue Rocks win, 8-6, against the Frederick Keys on a Friday night at Frawley Stadium, tying the series to two wins apiece.
After tying the game for the second time in the seventh, Wilmington would take charge once again with late-inning heroics.
Ronny Cruz would start it off with a single and ultimately tally three hits on the night. Cruz would steal second, and Elijah Green would draw a walk. Frederick right-handed reliever Brandon Downer would throw the second wild pitch of his appearance, moving the runners to scoring position.
Jack Moroknek, who already had two RBI’s on the day, would ground to Frederick shortstop Leandro Arias. Arias would send a ball sailing past the catcher, scoring Cruz and Green to take the lead.
“When it gets down to those late innings, it’s winning time,” said Moroknek. “It doesn’t really matter what the stat book says. You’re just trying to get the runner over, pass the baton, get him to second, whatever it takes.”
Only being here for a couple of weeks, Moroknek has taken it upon himself to ask teammates he was with down in single-A Fredericksburg for advice.
“It really comes down to ‘hey, these guys are gonna be coming right at you, they throw a lot more strikes, so you’ve got to be ready to swing a lot more,’” said Moroknek.
Jacob Roberts, a right-handed Blue Rocks reliever, came out of the pen in the top of the seventh inning. Roberts would pitch two scoreless innings, with two strikeouts, allowing no hits, and collected the win.
“It’s a game of confidence,” said Roberts. “The guys behind me are so good, we had eight runs today, so they had a really big day. It makes my job easier.”
Ever since being called up to Wilmington on June 10, Roberts has pitched a scoreless 9 and two-thirds innings, as batters are hitting .050 against Roberts.
“Like I said earlier, these guys behind me are unbelievable,” said Roberts. “These guys can swing it, they can field it. This is such an amazing ball club.”
Interim manager Mitchell Boe, who is filling in for Ted Tom this series, was able to get his second win as a professional manager.
“I’ve learned a lot, but it’s awesome,” said Boe. “This group is very motivated and very young. They never feel like they’re out of ball games, they’re fighting, and it’s awesome.”
The Blue Rocks will be back tomorrow to face the Keys once more, at home, for game five of the six-game series, where the first pitch will be scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
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