Final from Sunday afternoon at First National Bank Field, in beautiful Downtown Greensboro:
Greensboro Grasshoppers 8, Wilmington Blue Rocks 5
(This is our Fred Anderson Toyota of Raleigh Game Report.)
WP:Victor Cabreja(1-4)/LP:Mikey Tepper(0-1)
Hoppers' Line-8-8-1 Rocks' Line- 5-7-2
Greensboro Grasshoppers now at (40-23) on the season, while the Wilmington Blue Rocks have fallen to (28-34) for 2026…Hoppers have moved back into First Place in the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division, with a 1/2 Game lead over the Frederick Keys(38-22), with 3 Games/3 Days remaining in the First Half…The First Half comes to an end this Thursday June 18, and the Hoppers will be in Winston-Salem this week, for a Six-Game Series with the (36-27) Dash…
That info above gives us the right idea about where the Greensboro Grasshoppers stand, going into the final games of the First Half of this 2026 season, and the Hoppers Are In The Hunt For The First Half Title.
Now here are five questions facing the Greensboro Grasshoppers coming out of Sunday’s win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks….
1)The Hoppers’ starting pitcher, and Top Pittsburgh Pirates’ prospect Seth Hernandez only went 1 2/3s Innings on Sunday, allowing 0 Runs, on 1 Hit, with 2 BBs/2 Ks…And then Hernandez was taken out of the game…What is up with that??? Why such a short stint for Seth Hernandez on Sunday???
2)Hoppers’ Bench Coach Phillip Wellman was ejected by Home Plate umpire Brandon Smith in the First Inning…And What was going on there??? Looked to be an arguement over how a pitch was being called, and not sure why Coach Wellman got the hook…
3)There was deep hit to left field in the Bottom of the Seventh Inning, coming off of the bat of Hoppers’ shortstop, Sammy Stafura…The baseball appeared to go over the Lomax Construction Company sign in left field, and the ball goes over the fence, and bounces back onto the field…Out of the Park, Home Run, right??? Nope, the Home Plate Umpire Brandon Smith and the Field Umpire Brendan Auman, both said it was a Double by Stafura, and not a Home Run…The thought was that the ball hit the top of the Lomax Contruction Sign in left and bounced back into the field of play…At least that is what the Umpires thought happened…But, in watching this play happen, I saw it go over the fence and bounce back onto the field of play…Same evaluation from Sunday’s broadcast partner, Bryant Roche, sports writer from the News and Record…I was already into the LOOOOOOOONG GONE Home Run Call, and had to retreat, and wonder what was going here….Stafura clearly homered, but the Umpires missed it, Right??? There is a concrete walkway just below that Lomax Construction Sign, and the thought by several observers is, that the ball did go over the fence, it hit that cocrete walkway, and bounced back onto the field, from outside of the field area…Out of the field, and over the fence, and the ball bounces back onto the field…Have seen some video on the play, but not enough on that video, to validate my theory…”Ball Goes Out, and Then Bounces Back In”…What’s Up with That, What’s Up with That, What’s Up with That????? The batter Sammy Stafura was left for the moment, standing at Second Base with a Double, instead of a Home Run, and put his hands up in the air, and said something like, HUH??? Home Run, or Not a Home Run??? Sure looked like a Home Run to many of us….And as Sammy Stafura looked to be saying, “HUH”?????
Long question time time, there for #3, and now back to a couple of others coming out of the Greensboro Grasshoppers Sunday Win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks….
4)Greensboro Grasshoppers’ first baseman Jared Jones was ejected by Home Plate umpire Brandon Smith in the Top of the Ninth Inning…Not sure what this one was about, because Jared Jones wasn’t even in uniform on Sunday, and he is on the injured list, and not currently active for the team(Hoppers)…Jones was chirping something, or arguing about a call, and the Home Plate Umpire, Brandon Smith, gave him the hook…What was up here, and what caused Mr. Jones, to be sent to the clubhouse???
5)And the final question of the day/night would be this…Will the Greensboro Grasshoppers(40-23) go ahead and wrap up that First Place Title, with key necessary wins on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, at the Winston-Salem Dash(36-27)??? Need those wins, and hoping that this team can just take care of their business, and wrap it up this week, at Winston…
Got a few MORE game details on the way…REMAX Revolution Player of the Game was, Jhonny Severino who was 2-4/HR/BB/Run/2 RBI…The HR for Severino was his 13th of the season, and his RBI total jumped up to 48…Sammy Stafura was 2-3/HR/Double/2 Runs/RBI, and he should have had 2 Home Runs…Dylan Palmer had a good Hoppers’ Sunday, going 2-2/Triple/2 Runs…Edward Florentino went 1-4/HR/Run/3 RBI…Big Three-Run HR for Florentino…The Hoppers’ Josh Tate was 1-3/RBI…And that wraps up most of Hopper Hitting for Sunday…
Hoppers’ Winning Pitcher, Victor Cabreja worked 2 2/3s Innings, giving up 1 Run, on 2 Hits, with 1 BB/3 Ks…Solid bullpen work turned in by Owen Kellington, Inmer Lobo, and Kyle Larsen…
The top hitter for the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Sunday was, Caleb Farmer…Farmer goes 2-3/HR/BB/2 Runs/2 RBI…The Rocks’ losing pitcher, was their starting pitcher Mikey Tepper…Tepper went 2 Innings, giving up 4 Runs, on 3 Hits, with 3 BBs/3 Ks, and he gave up the Three-Run Home Run, by the Hoppers’ Edward Florentino, in Second Inning…
Plenty of close games with the Hoppers and the Blue Rocks, this past week….Hoppers take the Six-Game Series vs. the Rocks, 5-1…Hoppers win Tuesday, 7-5, and then took Wednesday’s game, 4-3…Hoppers lost to the Rocks on Thursday, 9-5…Hoppers’ Wins on Friday 7-6, Saturday 8-7, and Sunday 8-5…
Game Details:
Attendance-2,616
Time of Game-2:46
Game Time Temp-90 Degrees and Sunny
Next Up: Greensboro Grasshoppers(40-23) at the Winston-Salem Dash(36-27) on Tuesday @ 6:30pm….
**********Hoppers-Blue Rocks Game Report, from Callie Cline, at GSOHoppers.com:**********
Grasshoppers Secure Series Win with 8-5 Victory Over Blue Rocks
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Greensboro Grasshoppers defeated the Wilmington Blue Rocks, 8-5, on Sunday, June 14, to secure the series victory. With the win, Greensboro improved to 40-23 on the season, while Wilmington fell to 28-34. The Grasshoppers held an 8-7 advantage in hits, while the Blue Rocks committed two errors compared to Greensboro’s one.
Infielder Jhonny Severino paced the Grasshoppers’ offense, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and one run scored. Infielder Jacob Palmer also turned in a strong performance, finishing 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored. Additional hits for Greensboro came from Sammy Stafura, who recorded two hits, along with Edward Florentino and Josh Tate.
For Wilmington, catcher Caleb Farmer led the way offensively, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. Outfielder Elijah Nunez added a 2-for-4 performance with a run scored. Yeremy Cabrera, Angel Feliz, and Jack Moroknek each contributed a hit for the Blue Rocks.
Right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez made the start for Greensboro, striking out two while allowing one hit and two walks over 1.2 innings. Left-handed pitcher Victor Cabreja earned the victory in relief, improving to 1-4 on the season.
Right-hander Mikey Tepper started for Wilmington and struck out three over two innings. He allowed three hits, four runs (three earned), and three walks. Tepper was charged with the loss and fell to 0-1 on the season.
The Grasshoppers are back in action at First National Bank Field on Tuesday, June 30, at 6:30PM against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. To purchase tickets to any home Grasshoppers game please call 336-268-2255 or visit gsohoppers.com