WILMINGTON, Del – Following a challenging week against the Northern Division’s first-half leaders, the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Blue Rocks returned to Frawley Stadium to face the Brooklyn Cyclones for the second time this season.
Fans were ecstatic for the Blue Rocks' return as they awaited the debut of Eli Willits. The number one overall draft pick of the 2025 MLB draft, Willits, was called up from the Fredericksburg Nationals ahead of their road trip to Greensboro, N.C.
The 18-year-old had an impressive start to the season at the Low-A level with a clean 0.300 batting average across 190 at-bats. The highly anticipated arrival of Willits was worth the wait as the shortstop launched a two-run double to right field to turn the tide of game one in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ronny Cruz, Yeremy Cabrera, and Kevin Bazzell followed with singles and a sacrifice fly to capture a 5-4 lead heading into the eighth. As Wilmington captured its first win in the series, it effectively snapped its three-game losing skid.
As the first half of the season came to a close on Thursday, June 18, the Blue Rocks were on a roll. Wilmington took the first three games of the series to finish the first half of the season third in the Northern Division with a 31-34 record.
With three wins under their belt, Wilmington hit the ground running. Friday, June 19, there were fireworks on and off the field as the Blue Rocks took a commanding 10-4 win. Cabrera and Elijah Nunez led the Wilmington offense with two hits and two runs each. Merrick Baldo closed out the win for Wilmington on the bump with two near-perfect innings, allowing one walk while not sacrificing a hit or run and striking out three.
The Blue Rocks improved to 3-0 in the second half of the season as they swept the Brooklyn Cyclones 6-0. This marked the first time in the Cyclones’ history that they had been swept in a six-game series.
Wilmington looks to nurse their flawless second-half record as they face the Frederick Keys for a six-game series at home. First pitch is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, at 6:35 pm.