Wilmington’s pitching carried the night, and Jacob Walsh supplied the only offense the Blue Rocks needed in a 2-1 win over the Frederick Keys on Friday at Frawley Stadium.
The victory came in game two of Friday’s doubleheader and moved Wilmington to 59-58 overall and 28-24 in the second half. Frederick fell to 71-43 overall and 30-20 in the second half.
Jarlin Susana made another rehab start while working back from the right lat tear he suffered the previous September, and the results were loud. The Nationals’ No. 3 prospect struck out seven in just two and two-thirds innings, easily his best outing of 2026 so far.
Wilmington’s bullpen kept the momentum rolling after Susana exited. Across the two games, the Blue Rocks held Frederick to one run over 14 innings, a stretch that turned Friday into a showcase for the staff more than anything else.
“It feels really good, especially for these guys in the bullpen and especially for our starters,” assistant coach Mitchell Boe said after taking over managerial duties when Ted Tom was ejected in the top of the fifth inning. “The starters gave us a really good start and kind of set the tone. Those guys, every guy that came out of the bullpen, followed suit.”
The big escape came in the sixth, when Frederick loaded the bases and looked poised to break through. Baron Stuart took over and got exactly what Wilmington needed: a ground ball that Luke Dickerson and Eli Willits turned into a double play, followed by a pop out on the next pitch.
“You have to just not freak out in some of those situations,” Wilmington pitching coach Justin Lord said. “We had the guy we wanted on the mound at the time.
[Baron] Stuart got the ground ball. [Luke] Dickerson and Eli [Willits] turned a double play in the middle and kept their cool.”
Lord said Stuart handled the pressure like a veteran.
“For him to come in and get that double play and then get a pop out on the next pitch was really cool,” Lord said. “He [Stuart] just kept his composure, and he’s a pro. He’s been in those situations before.”
Walsh’s contribution came in the bottom of the fourth, when he broke his bat and still managed to loop a two-run single into shallow right field. Luke Dickerson and Yeremy Cabrera scored on the play, and that was enough to decide the game.
Walsh has been central to Wilmington’s offense against Frederick all series. He finished with six RBIs in the series to date, and all three Wilmington runs scored across both games of Friday’s doubleheader came off his bat.
Boe said that even on a quieter night for the lineup, Walsh kept finding a way to impact the game.
“He [Jacob Walsh] still found ways to get it done, and that’s what he is,” Boe said. “That’s who he is.
He finds ways to get things done. So he’s a great dude to have on our side.”
The win also kept Wilmington’s playoff hopes alive as the regular season winds down, though the team has kept its focus on the work in front of it rather than the standings.
“We just show up every day,” Boe said. “Just keep showing up every day and keep putting in the work.
Just because we’re at the end, we’re not going to not work. We’re still getting our work in.”
With Tom out after the ejection, Boe said the team’s mindset stayed the same.
“Someone goes down, it’s the next man up,” Boe said. “Just the next man up and just keep this thing rolling in the right direction.”
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