Carolina's Comeback Falls Short as Mudcats Drop Third Straight 9-7 to Down East

ZEBULON, NC - The Mudcats rallied back from a five run first inning deficit to eventually take a 7-6 lead in the fifth, but the Wood Ducks came back with two in the sixth before defeating the Mudcats 9-7 in the finale of a four game series on Monday afternoon at Five County Stadium. 

Dylan File started for the Mudcats (29-22) and was unable to get through the opening frame after allowing five runs and five hits in the first. He also walked two and struck out one while retiring just two batters before reaching 41 pitches (26 strikes) and leaving the game. Matt Hardy followed and went on to close the first by getting a lineout with the bases loaded to end the frame.
Yonny Hernandez, Leody Taveras, Diosbel Arias, Sam Huff and Yanio Perez each had hits in the first for the Wood Ducks (35-17). Ryan Dorow, Arias, Huff, Perez and Hernandez each drove in runs as well for Down East with a sac fly, double, single, single and bases loaded walk respectively in the opening frame.
The Mudcats came back with a run in the last of the first after Ryan Aguilar doubled and scored after Mario Feliciano reached on an error by Anderson Tejeda at short. They also scored a run in the third when Feliciano doubled and came across on a wild pitch lost by starter Reid Anderson.
Down East answered with one more in the fourth with a RBI double from Arias off Hardy, but Carolina came back with two in the same frame on consecutive run scoring hits from Wes Rogers and Aguilar.
The Mudcats were down 6-4 when reliever Josh Advocate took over for Anderson in the fifth. Anderson finished his start with four runs (three earned) allowed on six hits over four innings pitched. He also walked one and struck out three. 
Carolina then welcomed Advocate (W, 3-1, 3.00) to the game with back-to-back singles from Feliciano and Payton Henry before loading the bases after Rob Henry reached on a fielder's choice. Eddie Silva then came through with a two-run single to tie the game at 6-6 and Julio Garcia broke it with a sac fly to right 
The Mudcats were up for the first time in the game at 7-6 after five, but both Dorow and Arias singled and scored against reliever Cody Beckman in the sixth as the Wood Ducks rallied back to go up 8-7. Down East added one more in the ninth off reliever Rodrigo Benoit to finish off a 9-7, series clinching victory versus the second place Mudcats on Monday. 
Arias went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs in the game for the Wood Ducks. Taveras went 3-for-6 with two runs and Hernandez also scored twice while going 1-for-4 with a RBI. Huff and Perez both had two hits while going 2-for-3 and 2-for-5 respectively and the Wood Ducks offense, in all, totaled 15 hits while scoring nine times in the game.
Feliciano and Henry led the way for the Mudcats as they both went 3-for-5 with Feliciano also totaling two doubles in the game. Aguilar also doubled and had two hits and Silva went 2-for-5 with two RBI as Carolina totaled 12 hits, including five doubles, in the loss.
Carolina used five pitches in the game as Hardy went through four full innings with one run allowed on four hits. Hardy also walked three and struck out three. Beckman (L, 2-2, 3.38) then went an inning a 1/3 with two runs allowed on three hits while taking the loss. Clayton Andrews worked through an inning and 2/3 with one hit, two walks and two strikeouts and Benoit went an inning and 1/3 with run allowed on two hits and one strikeout.
Advocate earned the win despite losing the lead in the fifth. He followed that frame with a scoreless sixth and, in all, allowed three runs and four hits over and inning and 2/3 for Down East. Joe Barlow and Demarcus Evans then combined on the final third of the game as they both worked through an inning and 2/3 respectively to finish it. Barlow (H, 2) struck out four and Evans (S, 6) struck out two for Down East.
The loss dropped Carolina to 4.5 games back of first behind the Wood Ducks in the first half standings. It also dropped Carolina to just 3-5 in their eight game home stand at Five County Stadium.
The Mudcats are off on Tuesday, May 28 and will next play on Wednesday, May 29 in Winston-Salem as they take on the Dash for the first time this season. Wednesday's game will be the first of four straight on the road before Carolina returns home again on Sunday, June 2 to face the Frederick Keys at Five County Stadium.
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