WILMINGTON, DE (6/16/26) — The Wilmington Blue Rocks defeated the Brooklyn Cyclones, 6-4, Tuesday night at Frawley Stadium.
Wilmington opened the series with a win and improved to 29-34 on the season. The Blue Rocks now sit in fourth place in the South Atlantic League North Division, one game behind Hudson Valley. Brooklyn fell to 25-38 and remains in fifth place.
The Blue Rocks stole Game 1 with a seventh-inning rally, scoring five runs to erase a four-run deficit and take the lead.
With the bases loaded, No. 1 Nationals prospect Eli Willits sparked the comeback with a two-run double on an 0-2 pitch. Ronny Cruz followed with an RBI single, and Yeremy Cabrera drove in another run to tie the game at 4-4. Kevin Bazzell then gave Wilmington a 5-4 lead with a sacrifice fly that scored Cruz.
"He got me good on the 0-1 changeup, but I knew he was probably going to go back to it," Willits said. "I was expecting the fastball but ready for the changeup. I saw it up, and after that I just put a swing on it."
Teo Banks finished 3-for-4 with three singles, while five other Blue Rocks recorded hits. Wilmington added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Jake Moroknek scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 6-4.
"I'm excited for our guys. The work hasn't changed. We're still very disciplined from 2 to 6 every day. It's good to see," manager Ted Tom said. "Kudos to them for keeping their heads down and doing what they needed to do to finish today."
After winning just two of their previous 12 games, the Blue Rocks opened a series with a victory for the first time since May 19 against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws.
"I love showing up to work every day and competing with them," Tom said. "I love the guys in the dugout when we win. I'm trying to win every game."
Right-hander Eriq Swan returned to Frawley Stadium for the first time since last season while on a rehab assignment. Swan earned the win and did not allow a run.
"Going into the next one, the command needs to be better," Swan said. "As for today, I'm happy I battled through it. It could have gotten a lot worse."
While Swan wants to improve, his outing was important for a bullpen that struggled during last week's series against Greensboro.
Riley Maddox got the start for Wilmington and pitched six innings, allowing four runs while striking out one. Maddox was responsible for all four Brooklyn runs, but he limited further damage and helped keep Wilmington within striking distance.
The offense continued its strong stretch from last week, posting another six-run performance, its sixth since the start of the Greensboro series.
"It's good to see us get those timely hits when we needed them to scratch runs across," Tom said.
Tom also credited his team for its resiliency after falling behind by four runs.
"I think it's a credit to what our hitting staff does. We've been able to put pressure on the bases, and we don't quit, right?" Tom said. "We have a very resilient bunch, and it doesn't matter who's in the lineup. We get the same resiliency every night."
The Cyclones did their damage in the early innings. Daiverson Gutierrez homered in the fourth, Mitch Voit hit a sac fly in the fifth, and Gutierrez scored again on a wild pitch. That was all they could muster as Swan and the bullpen dialed in for the victory.
Earning his first save was Jacob Roberts in his first appearance in Wilmington. The righty struck out four batters in 1.2 innings and finished the game with a punch out.
Wilmington plays again tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. and Yoel Tejeda Jr. is the probable starter.