Frederick's big first inning sends Woodies to another loss
By Dominic Cotroneo / Down East Wood Ducks
FREDERICK, MD. -- A big first inning for the Frederick Keys (9-19 second half, 44-53 overall) proved to be more than enough offense to hand the skidding Wood Ducks’ (9-19, 44-54) a 7-2 loss Thursday night. Frederick's four-run frame to open the game handed Joe Palumbo the loss in his second start back with the Woodies.
The loss was the Wood Ducks' eighth consecutive, breaking the record for most losses in a row by the second-year franchise. The DEWDs lost seven in a row from June 1-8 in their inaugural 2017 campaign.
Yanio Perez responded in the top of the second with a solo homer - his first of 2018. The blast kept the Wood Ducks in the hunt as they had at least one baserunner for each of the first six innings of play, but went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position in that stretch. The DEWDs finished the night 1-for-12 with RISP.
Palumbo settled down after the first and collected a pair of strikeouts in three innings of work. The left-hander allowed his first earned runs of the season with the Woodies with all four he allowed in the first.
Kaleb Fontenot entered in the fourth and provided strong extended relief. The Louisiana native matched a season-high with three innings pitched, all in scoreless fashion leaving two runners on base.
The Keys tagged Jairo Beras for three runs in the seventh inning, marking the second time Frederick has recorded runs against Beras this season. Jacob Lemoine closed the night with a perfect bottom of the eighth, which included a strikeout.
Lemoine has worked his last 18.1 innings only allowing one earned run with 16 strikeouts. In the top of the eighth, LeDarious Clark extended his hitting streak to eight games with an RBI single to left to score Franklin Rollin, who had two doubles on the night.
The Wood Ducks and Keys will play the series finale on Friday. Emerson Martinez (4-9, 4.05) will start for the Woodies against Michael Baumann (4-2, 4.07) at 7 p.m. Fans can listen to all of the action live on 960-AM The Bull or streamed live on the TuneIn Radio app.