(Media release from the Rome Emperors):
Stephen Paolini’s double over the head of right fielder Daylen Lile was Rome’s second extra-base hit in the ninth and drove in E.J. Exposito to win game two of the series with Wilmington.
Down 2-1 entering the ninth, Ethan Workinger’s one-out double to left center was his eighth of the season and the Emperors’ first extra-base hit of the game. A line drive base hit over third base off the bat of Exposito plated Workinger and set the table for Paolini who drove in his 18th run of the season in walk-off fashion. Rome’s second inning run also scored Exposito, but it was Justin Janas registering the single.
Riley Frey turned in a phenomenal 6.0 inning, three hit performance on the hill. No runs crossed the plate on Frey, who lowered his High-A ERA to 0.75. Cory Wall ran into trouble with two outs in the seventh and gave up three consecutive hits which put the Blue Rocks in front, 2-1. Strickland held the deficit in the ninth and wound up the winning pitcher.
Over Paolini’s last 10 games, the 2019 fifth-round pick is 10-for-33 (.303) with three doubles and eight driven in. Exposito is 14 for his last 37 (.378) over that same span with four doubles, two homers, eight driven in, and an OPS of 1.088.
Game three of the series with Wilmington is set for Thursday at 7:00pm EDT.
