Wilmington, DE - It’s hard to say which Blue Rocks player was more locked in on Friday night. Regardless, the tandem of right-hander Blake Wood and shortstop Chris McConnell (pictured) was the perfect recipe, as Wilmington opened a six-game homestand with a 6-2 victory over the Winston-Salem Warthogs at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. The win is the second consecutive for the Rocks (8-12) and evens their home record at 4-4.

The 22-year-old Wood (1-1) slung a season-high 6.2 frames of four-hit, two-run baseball to finally earn his first victory through five starts. He faced the minimum in an inning four times and retired the side in order on three of those occasions.

The Atlanta, GA native departed with two out in the seventh following an infield hit by C.J. Retherford. Righty Russ Haltiwanger came on and promptly induced a foul pop to catcher Jeff Howell to extinguish the inning.

While Wood flexed his muscle on the mound, McConnell enjoyed a season-best night at the dish. Entering play mired in a 6-for-45 slump spanning the prior 12 games, the defensive wizard clocked four base hits, including three doubles, and scored a pair of runs. He put the Rocks on the board with an RBI double in the first, driving home Derrick Robinson for a 1-0 lead.

McConnell also started a pair of impressive and, at times, unorthodox rallies for Wilmington. With the game knotted at 1-1, he singled off the third baseman's glove to start the third and wound up at third following a base hit by Kurt Mertins, a Joe Dickerson foul-out and a plunking of Anthony Seratelli. McConnell scampered home with the go-ahead run via a passed ball with Jeff Howell batting.

With runners at second and third, Howell then bounced a ball to Retherford at third base, who fired a strike home in an attempt to cut down Mertins. Catcher Billy Killian, however, forgot that a force was no longer in order and simply stepped on the plate and then threw to first to attempt what he thought would be a double play. To his dismay, the run crossed safely and, to make matters worse, the throw was late to first. A balk by pitcher John Ely (0-2) during the next at-bat plated the third and final run of the frame, making it 4-1 Wilmington.

Up 4-2 in the seventh, the Rocks put the game away. McConnell looped a double to center to start the inning. The two-bagger was Mac's fourth hit and the first of four consecutive knocks to begin the frame against reliever Ricky Brooks. A Mertins double pushed McConnell home and, after a Dickerson single, Seratelli put the Blue Rocks ahead 6-2 with an opposite-way RBI single to left.

Wilmington and Winston-Salem play the middle game of their three-game set Saturday evening at 6:05 p.m. The Blue Rocks will send right-hander Mario Santiago (0-2, 2.71) against Winston-Salem southpaw Aaron Poreda (0-1, 2.35).

GAME NOTES
Kurt Mertins extended his team-best hitting streak to 11 games with a 2-for-4 night at the plate. The reigning Carolina League Player of the Week singled in the third and doubled in the seventh. His streak is the second longest in the league this season. Mertins is batting .400 during the hot streak, which surpassed Joe Dickerson’s 10-gamer for team-high honors.

McConnell’s four-hit barrage is the second four-hit game by a Blue Rock this year, joining the aforementioned Mertins, who turned the trick at Salem on April 4.

The “Runnin’ Rocks” continued to tear up the base paths on Friday night, swiping three more sacks to push their league-topping total to 47. Derrick Robinson (7), McConnell (8) and Mertins (5) each supplied a theft. Wilmington is on pace to steal an astounding 329 bags this season.