Wilmington Blue Rocks Rally Falls Short in 4-3 Loss to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – Wilmington, DE – The Wilmington Blue Rocks could not fully recover from an early three-run hole, as the visiting Myrtle Beach Pelicans walked away with a 4-3 victory at Frawley Stadium on Saturday night.  Starter Matt Kniginyzky was unable to get on track and once again failed to snare his first Advanced-A victory, while the Wilmington offense sputtered when presented with golden scoring chances.  The loss ensures the visitors a series victory and hands the Blue Rocks their second consecutive loss. 

With a 1-0 lead already in hand entering the third, three of the first four Pelicans batters cracked doubles against Kniginyzky.  Brandon Hicks and Willie Cabrera produced back-to-back two-baggers with one out to push across two runs and move Myrtle Beach out in front, 3-0. 

Kniginyzky (0-4) was harangued for three runs on seven hits in his 3.1 innings of work.  He struggled with command, walking three batters and working numerous deep counts.  He remains winless through seven starts this year and has not registered a victory since July 4, 2007 while pitching for Low-A Burlington. 

Trailing by three, the Rocks showed signs of life in the fifth.  With runners at the corners and no one out, the Blue Crew pulled off a double steal that saw Jarrod Dyson swipe home plate and get the home team on the scoreboard.   

The Blue Rocks would load the bases later in the inning against Pelicans starter Gonzalo Lopez, but could not deliver the hammer.  After a Chris McConnell fielder's choice drew the Rocks within a run, Kurt Mertins swung at the first pitch he saw and banged into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to squash the uprising.  Lopez (2-2) pumped his fist as he bolted off the field at inning's end. 

The Pelicans, who pounded out seven doubles among their 12 hits, regained a two-run cushion in the eighth with a pair of two-base hits against reliever Gilbert De La Vara.  With one out, Robert  

Marcial sent a looper just fair down the right field line to plate Concepcion Rodriguez, who doubled two batters earlier. 

That tally provided pivotal, as the Rocks shaved into the deficit in the bottom half of the frame.  Derrick Robinson reached on a Marcial fielding snafu to lead off and was moved to second on a McConnell walk.  Robinson was able to race home all the way from second during the next at-bat when nobody bothered to cover home following a sac bunt by Kurt Mertins.  However, during the wild play, McConnell was caught in a rundown and eventually tagged out when he took an overly wide berth of second base.   

The overzealous play short-circuited any Wilmington momentum and closer Kevin Gunderson entered the game one batter later with a man aboard to strike out pinch hitter Joe Dickerson, who got a night off for just the second time this season. 

Gunderson earned his league-best ninth save when he retired the Blue Rocks 1-2-3 in the ninth. 

Wilmington looks to avoid a sweep at the hands of the visiting Pelicans on Sunday at 1:35 p.m.  The Rocks will send righty Jason Godin (2-1, 4.85) to the mound against an undetermined pitcher for Myrtle Beach.  The visitors were slated to send league strikeout leader Tommy Hanson to the hill, but the right-hander was promoted to Double-A Mississippi during Saturday's game.

GAME NOTES

The Blue Rocks drop to 5-7 in one-run games.  It is already the third one-run defeat the Rocks have suffered at the hands of the Pelicans, who now lead the season series versus Wilmington, 5-1. 

Of Wilmington’s 12 base hits in the series so far, only one has gone for extra bases – a Jarrod Dyson double on Friday night.  The Blue Rocks managed just six singles in Saturday’s game.  Conversely, the Pelicans have now banged out 23 hits in the series, with 12 going for extra bases.

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