ZEBULON, N.C. - Nelson Hernandez pitched through a season high seven innings and Mario Feliciano hit his Carolina League leading 16th homer, but the Mudcats came up short again while falling 4-3 to the Wood Ducks on Wednesday afternoon at Five County Stadium. The loss was Carolina's season worst eighth
ZEBULON, N.C. - Nelson Hernandez pitched through a season high seven innings and Mario Feliciano hit his Carolina League leading 16th homer, but the Mudcats came up short again while falling 4-3 to the Wood Ducks on Wednesday afternoon at Five County Stadium. The loss was Carolina's season worst eighth straight; it was also their 11th straight in games versus Down East.
Both the Wood Ducks (25-14, 75-34) and Mudcats (16-24, 55-54) scored a run in the first before both starters, Reid Anderson for Down East and Nelson Hernandez for Carolina, settled in while keeping the game locked at 1-1 through the fifth. Curtis Terry, however, broke that tie with a solo home run off Hernandez (L, 10-8, 4.33) to in the sixth to lift Down East to a 2-1 lead. Diosbel Arias then made it 3-1 in the eighth after forcing in a run after rolling into a run scoring force in the eighth. Carolina, however, went on to cut the lead to 3-2 with Feliciano's homer in the same frame.
The two teams then traded runs in the ninth after Tyler Depreta-Johnson had run scoring single for Down East and Trever Morrison drove in one with a sacrifice fly for Carolina. Morrison's run cut the lead to 4-3, but Carolina ended up leaving a man on base as Zach Clark groundout out to end the game.
Morrison drove in Carolina's final run of the game with his sac fly and went 1-for-2 in what was his first game back from the injured list. Clark, meanwhile, followed Morrison in the lineup and went 2-for-4 while recording his first multi-hit game since 5/18/19. Feliciano went 1-for-4 with his Carolina League best 16th home run and brought his RBI total to 70 for the year.
Anderson (W, 6-5, 3.70) allowed just the one run in his start for Down East and did so after walking Brice Turang to start the first before giving up a two-out run scoring double to Payton Henry. The two-out RBI was Henry's league leading 31st of the year and his 59th RBI overall on the season.
Hernandez worked through a season high seven innings, but ended up with the loss after allowing two runs on five hits in his start. He allowed a run and two hits in the first, but had held the Wood Ducks scoreless over the next four innings before allowing Terry's game tying homer in the sixth. He also struck out four and walked one while reaching 92 pitches (59 strikes) in the loss.
Terry's go-ahead home run in the sixth was his second in as many games for the Wood Ducks as he also broke a 1-1 tie in Tuesday's series opener. Terry went 1-for-4 with what was also his sixth homer of the year for the Wood Ducks. Bubba Thompson went 3-for-4 and Depreta-Johnson was 2-for-4 for Down East.
Relievers Michael Petersen and Cody Beckman both turned in an inning each while following Hernandez in the game. Petersen allowed a run and two hits in the eighth and Beckman allowed an unearned run and two hits in the ninth.
Jairo Beras, Josh Advocate and Michael Matuella worked the final four innings for Down East with Beras (H, 3) turning in two scoreless frames, Advocate (H, 7) allowing Feliciano's homer in the eighth and Matuella (S, 3) closing out the game despite allowing run and one hit in the final frame.
The Down East victory clinched a series victory for the Wood Ducks. It was also their 11th straight victory versus Carolina this season. The loss also ran Carolina's current losing streak to a season worst eight straight.
The series and home stand will conclude on Thursday night with the first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Five County Stadium. Noah Zavolas (5-5, 3.07) will have the series finale start for Carolina on Thursday night. Thursday's game will also feature the Mudcats playing as the "Carolina Micro Brews" and the Wood Ducks playing as the "Kinston Collard Greens."
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