On a hot Sunday in Wilmington, Delaware, the Wilmington Blue Rocks pitching blazed through Winston-Salem Dash for a 4-3 afternoon victory.
The two stories of the game for the Rocks were starting pitcher Jace Vines who brought it on Sunday as he pitched seven innings, four hits, one run, one earned run, two walks and seven strikeouts.
The other story was the big inning in the eighth for the Rocks offense as the lineup scored three runs to put the Rocks in the lead for good.
The versatile D.J. Burt led all Blue Rocks players with two RBIs in the win against the Dash.
Slow Start for Offense & Vines Dominates:
It took some time but Wilmington was the first team to put a run on the board in the bottom of the third which was thanks to third baseman D.J Burt.
Burt doubled on a fly ball to left field which scored second baseman Oliver Nunez which gave the Rocks a 1-0 early lead.
It did not take long for the Dash to answer back with third baseman Yeyson Yrizarri grounding out in a force out which scored DH Micker Adolfo in the top of fourth to tie the game.
This was the last run that Rocks starting pitcher Jace Vines gave up in the game as the man was dealing in Sunday’s win.
As we mentioned earlier, Vines had pitched seven innings, four hits, one run, one earned run, two walks and seven strikeouts.
Rocks Eighth Inning Offense:
Both team’s lineups were silent after the fourth inning until the eighth inning where both teams offense woke up.
In the top of the eighth, The Dash got their first lead of the game by right fielder Blake Rutherford’s ground out to score center fielder Luis Gonzalez to make it a 2-1 lead for their team.
Dash’s lead did not last long as when it was Wilmington’s turn to bat they took the lead for good this time.
First, it was Burt who singled on a fly ball to right field which scored shortstop Angelo Castellano and tied the game at two runs.
Then, DH Gabriel Cancel had a sacrifice fly which scored center fielder Blake Perkins and gave the Rocks a 3-2 lead.
Lastly, it was left fielder Travis Jones who singled to left field which scored Burt and increased Rocks lead to 4-2.
Also, in the eighth, Rocks pitcher Josh Mitchell came in for Jace Vines and he threw one inning, one hit, one run and earned his second win of the year.
Rocks Hold On:
The Dash was not ready to throw in the towel just yet and they fought in the top of ninth with all of their might to get the game back in their favor.
Dash’s catcher Nate Nolan singled on a ground ball to left field which scored first baseman Gavin Sheets and decreased Rocks lead to 4-3.
This would be the only run that Rocks closer Julio Pinto gave up in the ninth as he went one inning, three hits, one run, one earned run, one walk and earned his fourth save of the year.
Pinto would close the deal for the Rocks who were able to hang on to a 4-3 win against the Dash on a steamy Sunday at Frawley Stadium.
Rocks look to make it two straight wins against the Dash as two will battle it out once again tomorrow at Frawley Stadium. First pitch is at 6:35 pm ET.