The Wilmington Blue Rocks were ready to play the Frederick Keys in a double header Sunday but mother nature had other plans and the second game was rained out.
Game two did not happen but game one did and the Rocks starting pitcher Gerson Garabito threw seven excellent innings to lead his team to a 8-1 win over the Keys.
Garabito was the star of this game for the Rocks as he went seven innings, five hits, one run, one earned run, one walk, six strikeouts, one home run and earned his fourth win of the year.
Some of the offensive standouts for the Rocks were second baseman Gabriel Cancel and third baseman Emmanuel Rivera.
Cancel had one run, two hits and two RBIs in four at bats in the win.
Rivera had two runs and one walk in two at bats in the win.
Rocks Offense Comes Alive Early
The Rocks offense started this game off with a bang with pushing out six runs in the top of the first inning.
The first run of the inning was batted in by second baseman Gabriel Cancel who hit a single to center field which scored center fielder Blake Perkins.
Next run of the inning came from first baseman Travis Jones who also hit a single to center field which scored Cancel to increase Rocks lead to 2-0.
Then right fielder Rudy Martin walked which scored third baseman Emmanuel Rivera to increase Rocks lead to 3-0.
The Keys helped the Rocks add to their lead when their first baseman Wilson Garcia made a fielding error which scored left fielder Vance Vizcaino to make it a 4-0 Rocks lead.
Rocks Perkins came back in the inning and was walked which scored catcher Nathan Esposito to increase Rocks lead to 5-0.
Wilmington’s DH D.J. Burt was also walked in the inning which pushed in shortstop Angelo Castellano to increase Rocks lead to 6-0.
The Rocks came back in the top of the second inning and added one more run to their lead by Esposito hitting into a sacrifice fly which scored Rivera to make the score 7-0 Rocks.
Then in the third inning, Rocks Cancel doubled on a fly ball to center field to score Burt which increased Rocks lead to 8-0.
Garabito One Inning Blip
The only inning that Rocks starting pitcher Gerson Garabito allowed a run was in the bottom of the third inning where Keys shortstop Chris Clare hit a solo home run to decrease Rocks lead to 8-1.
After that run it was smooth sailing for Garabito who went seven innings, five hits, one run, one earned run, one walk, six strikeouts, one home run and earned his fourth win of the year.
The early offense and Garabito’s dominant performance on the mound led the Rocks to a 8-1 seven inning win on Sunday at Nymeo field.
Rocks continue the series with Frederick tomorrow with a doubleheader. First pitch is at 12 pm ET.