WILMINGTON, DE (6/20/26) — The Wilmington Blue Rocks defeated the Brooklyn Cyclones, 4-2, Saturday night at Frawley Stadium.
Wilmington wins their fifth straight and improves to 33-34 overall, and 2-0 in the second half. The Blue Rocks now sit atop the South Atlantic League North Division. Brooklyn falls to 25-42 overall, 0-2 in the second half, and sit in fourth place.
The Rocks started off hot scoring three runs on six hits in the first three innings. Jacob Walsh, brough home Ronny Cruz on a sacrifice fly, in the first. Then in the second back-to-back doubles from Caleb Farmer and Elijah Nunez scored two more runs.
Nunez played a couple weeks at Double-A Harrisburg was at Frawley this whole series and has enjoyed his return to Wilmington.
“Man, it feels good. I started with this group, and honestly, it's probably my favorite group of guys. I just love winning ballgames, so it's good to be back,” Nunez said.
The left fielder went 2-for-4 on the day, with two doubles and an RBI. His time with the Senators showed Nunez how quickly the game moves at the next level.
“I learned that the game is a lot faster at the next level, and you've got to be ready to hit,” Nunez said. “That's probably my main takeaway.”
Eventually the Rocks would add more insurance in the later innings. Jake Moroknek’s single scored Jacob Walsh to add a fourth run in the fifth inning.
Randal Diaz and Nunez both had multi-hit performances and the Rocks finished with 10 hits. Wilmington also bat .300 with runners in scoring position including six extra-base hits, with doubles from Cruz, Walsh, Nunez, and designated hitter Kyle Farmer.
The offense has been good the last couple of series, but this homestand the Rocks pitching has stepped it up a notch and Mikey Tepper continued this streak on Saturday night. Against Brooklyn, the Rocks have held the Cyclones to just 14 runs through the first five games of the series.
Tepper in his first start at Frawley this season pitched very well. The 24-year-old pitched five scoreless innings, only allowing three baserunners on two hits plus a walk, and he struck out two.
“Honestly, everything was working today,” Tepper said. “We kind of figured out they [Brooklyn] were swinging pretty early in counts, so the big thing was just getting over the plate and making them [Brooklyn] do the work. I'm just glad to be back out here.”
Scoreless performances are hard to come by at the High-A level and Tepper knows more than most, especially after coming back from Tommy John surgery last season.
“To be able to bounce back after that, I was very happy with myself,” Tepper said. “Especially just being back. From Tommy John last year until now, it's been awesome.”
Manager Ted Tom praised Tepper’s effort and his approach on the mound.
“I think this was his third start for us, and he finally kind of settled in and was confident in who he is as a pitcher, as opposed to trying to be somebody he's not,” Tom said. “That's part of a lot of guys' process, and definitely a part of his. We got to see the best version of him for five innings today.”
The bullpen didn’t preserve the shutout but they did do enough to keep Brooklyn at bay. Yeuris Jimenez relieved Tepper in the sixth inning. Jimenez pitched a clean sixth, but ran into some trouble in the seventh allowing two runs to come across. After him was Brady Hill. The righty, pitched a clean eighth inning. Then to earn the save Eiker Huizi pitched a one-two-three ninth inning close out the win.
The defense was impeccable from Wilmington. Their effort stood out as much as the Blue Rocks pitching performance today.
“I think it continues to show you that our guys believe in what's happening during that development zone from 2 to 6,” Tom said. “We really stress that, and we're reaping the benefits of their focused intent and work during the day.”
Wilmington wins their fifth straight and have a chance to complete the six-game sweep over the Cyclones tomorrow, Sunday afternoon at Frawley Stadium. Riley Maddox is the projected starter for the Blue Rocks.