The Winston-Salem Dash (19-16) carried an early lead into the middle innings, but a five-run seventh propelled the Wilmington Blue Rocks (19-15) to a 10-5 win on Wednesday night at Truist Stadium.
Winston-Salem jumped in front in the third inning. After Alex Ungar walked and Bryce Eblin doubled, the Dash plated three runs on a sacrifice fly from Caleb Bonemer, an RBI single from Ryan Burrowes, and another sacrifice fly from Boston Smith to take a 3-0 lead.
Wilmington answered in the fifth.
A pair of Dash errors opened the door for the Blue Rocks, who tied the game at 3-3 behind an RBI single from Randal Diaz and a run-scoring groundout later in the inning.
The game stayed even until the seventh, when Wilmington took control.
After loading the bases, Devin Fitz-Gerald crushed a grand slam to left field, capping a five-run inning that turned a tie game into an 8-3 Blue Rocks lead.
The Dash attempted to chip away late. Bonemer delivered an RBI single in the seventh, while Ely Brown added an RBI knock in the eighth, but Winston-Salem could not pull closer than five.
Wilmington added two more runs in the eighth and finished with 13 hits in the victory.
Despite the loss, the Dash showed flashes offensively early and continued to pressure Wilmington's pitching throughout the night, but defensive miscues and the seventh-inning swing proved too much to overcome.