After scoring only a total of three runs in their doubleheader yesterday against the Lynchburg Hillcats, the Wilmington Blue Rocks offense came back with a vengeance in Friday’s game.

Rocks took the win at at Calvin Falwell Field by a score of 12-11 with the winning run scored in the 10th inning.

The Rocks had to rally late in this game to even get a chance of pushing it to extra innings and the team did just that as they scored four runs late in the game.

Wilmington also capitalized on Lynchburg’s three errors which helped them put runners in a better position to score runs.

The offensive standouts in the game for the Rocks were center fielder Blake Perkins, third baseman D.J. Burt, second baseman Gabriel Cancel, DH Emmanuel Rivera, right fielder Rudy Martin, and left fielder Brewer Hicklen.

Perkins had three runs,one hit, one RBI and two strikeouts in five at bats in the win.

Burt had one run,one hit, two RBIs, one walk and two strikeouts in four at bats in the win.

Cancel had two runs, two hits, two RBIs, two walks and one home run in three at bats in the win.

Rivera had one run, two hits, four RBIs, one walk and one home run in in four at bats in the win.

Martin had one run, two hits, two RBIs and one walk in in four at bats in the win.

Hicklen had two runs, two walks and one strikeout in two at bats in the win.

Rocks Score First In Third Inning

It took some time but the first runs of the game came in the top of the third inning from Wilmington.

First run was batted in by center fielder Blake Perkins who doubled to left field to score left fielder Brewer Hicklen which gave Rocks a 1-0 lead.

The second run of the inning came from third baseman D.J. Burt who singled on a fly ball to left field which scored Perkins and increased Rocks lead to 2-0.

 

Double the Trouble

Rocks starting pitcher Ofreidy Gomez was cruising in the first three innings by silencing the Hillcats lineup but in the fourth inning that all changed.

In the fourth inning, Gomez gave up two home runs to Hillcats batters which gave the team a 4-2 lead over the Rocks.

The first home run in the inning for the Hillcats was a three run homer from DH Dillon Persinger.

Then, the second home run of the inning was from first baseman Emmanuel Tapia which his was a solo shot.

Five For Five

The Hillcats might of scored four runs in the fourth but the Rocks were not going to be outdone which the team scored five runs in the fifth inning.

The first run of the inning for the Rocks came from right fielder Rudy Martin who doubled on a fly ball to center field which scored Hicklen to decrease Hillcats lead to 4-3.

The next run came from the always reliable D.J. Burt who hit into a sacrifice fly to right field which scored Martin and tied the game at four runs.

Then, Rocks DH Emmanuel Rivera hit a three run home run which scored Perkins, second baseman Gabriel Cancel and himself to give the Rocks a 7-4 lead.

The bottom of the fifth inning would be the last of the game for Rocks starter Gomez who pitched five innings, 10 hits, four runs, four earned runs, one walk, three strikeouts and two home runs.

Josh Mitchell came into the game in the sixth to relieve Gomez for the Rocks and he went one inning, two hits, three runs, three earned runs, one walk, one strikeout and earned his third hold of the season.

 

Hillcats Brought the Fire In the Seventh

In the top of the seventh inning, Rocks added another run to their lead when Rivera hit a single to right field which scored Burt to increase Rocks lead to 8-4.

Then in the bottom of the seventh inning, Rocks reliever Mitchell exited the game and Jacob Condra-Bogan entered.

The Hillcats scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a late 10-8 lead in the game.

Condra-Bogan had a rough inning going one inning, three hits, three runs, three earned runs, one walk, one strikeout and earned his first blown save of the year.

 

Rocks Kept Fighting

The momentum was on the Hillcats side at the moment but the Rocks were not throwing in the towel on this game just yet.

In the top of the eighth inning, Hillcats pitcher Dalbert Siri threw a wild pitch which scored Rocks first baseman Travis Jones and decreased Hillcats lead to 10-9.

The Rocks now had the momentum which helped score two more runs in the ninth inning.

The first run of the ninth inning came from Cancel who hit a solo home run which tied the game at 10.

The second run of the inning came from Martin who singled on a ground ball to center field which scored DH  Vance Vizcaino and gave Rocks a 11-10 lead.

The lead would be short lived as Hillcats answered back in the bottom of the ninth with a run of their own which tied the game up at 11.

 

Extra Innings Winner 

Nine innings of baseball was not enough for either team to pull out a win which led the game into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, Rocks scored the would be winning run with Cancel hitting into a sac fly which scored Perkins to give the Rocks a 12-11 lead.

Now, it was up to closer Tyler Zuber to close this extra inning thriller of a game out for the Rocks and he did just that as he went three innings, one run, three walks, two strikeouts and earned his first win of the season.

Rocks stay on the road to start a new series with the Frederick Keys with the first pitch at 6:00pm ET.