After a slow start to the season, the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ bats are starting to wake up. Wilmington beat the Hub City Spartanburgers 7-1 on Sunday, April 13 at Frawley Stadium to earn a split in their six-game series. The victory improved Wilmington’s record to 3-6 and made them winners in three of their last four games.

After Hub City starter Jose Gonzalez kept Wilmington at bay through four innings, the Blue Rocks teed off on the Spartanburgers’ bullpen. A Jared McKenzie solo shot to right field opened the scoring in the bottom of the fifth before the floodgates opened in the sixth.

Wilmington had already expanded its lead to two before Brandon Pimentel stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. Pimentel blooped a ball over the shortstop’s head, allowing Matt Suggs and Gavin Dugas to score on the play. The result of the RBI double was a 4-0 lead and capped a strong series for Pimentel. The first baseman hit .333 and drove home five RBIs during the series against Hub City.

The runs were more than enough cushion for Blue Rocks pitcher Travis Sthele. The righty tossed six strong innings of one-hit ball while also receiving strong play from the defense behind him. Six outs were recorded on ground balls while 10 outs were obtained on fly balls. Sthele talked about what he thought of his performance on the mound.

“I was just filling up the zone and the defense made a few plays behind me,” Sthele said. “We’ve got a good group of guys here surrounding me. I’ve been trusting my stuff and it’s been working so far.

Sthele’s performance on Sunday marked a trend that emerged over the last four games. In their last 21 innings pitched, Blue Rocks starting pitchers combined to allow just two runs while striking out 31 batters compared to three walks and six hits allowed. Suggs was behind the plate for Sthele in addition to Game 1 of the doubleheader on Saturday and talked about what he’s been seeing out of the staff lately.

“I feel like pitching is getting in their groove now,” Suggs said. “They’re finding what they were working on in spring training. We’re filling up the zone, attacking hitters, and getting outs.”

Suggs contributed at the plate as well. The catcher went 1-2 with two walks, with the base hit coming in the seventh when he doubled down the left field line to score Armando Cruz from first and make it a 5-0 game. The seven runs and 14 hits accumulated were both season-highs for the Wilmington offense, and Suggs talked about what he thought was going better after a dismal start to the season.

“Just kinda flushing what we did to start the season off,” Suggs said. “Getting back to what we know as hitters and putting barrels together and getting runs in. It’s really great to see both sides of the games come together and put up good wins.”

The strong end to the series was in stark contrast to the dreadful 0-5 start the Rocks got off to. Sunday’s game also featured five extra-base hits and four stolen bases from Wilmington’s offense, both season-highs in the young season.

The Blue Rocks will look to carry the momentum into their next series as they travel to upstate New York to face the Hudson Valley Renegades. The first game of the six-game series will be played on Tuesday, April 15, at Heritage Financial Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

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