Mudcats Sweep Doubleheader in Kinston

KINSTON – With a pair of 6-5 finals, the Mudcats took both games of today's de facto doubleheader in Kinston versus the Wood Ducks. Carolina trailed 4-1 late in Game 1, and 5-0 early in Game 2 before coming back in both games. Hedbert Perez had a go-ahead double in the first game. Jheremy Vargas scored the eventual game winner in the first game and drove in the go-ahead run in the second game.

The Mudcats (10-9) trailed 4-1 going into the eighth before getting a run on a passed ball, another on an error and two more on a go-ahead RBI double from Perez to take a 5-4 lead. The Wood Ducks (8-11) went on to tie the game with a run in the last of that same eighth inning, but an Eduardo Garcia sac fly brought across Jheremy Vargas as the eventual game winning run in the ninth.

Down East committed four errors and allowed five Carolina runs on three hits over the final two innings of the first game. Vargas led off the ninth by reaching on an error and later scored the game winning run.

Reliever Christian Tripp earned the win despite giving a run in both the seventh and eighth innings. Tripp (2-0) worked around those two runs while earning his second victory so far this season. He also walked one and struck out one. Trevor Tietz then pitched the ninth to earn his second save. Tietz (S, 2) retired the side in order in the ninth while closing out the Game 1 victory.

The first game of Friday’s doubleheader was played through the ninth as it was the completion of Tuesday’s suspended game between the Wood Ducks and Mudcats. The second game was shortened to seven innings and saw lots of early scoring as Down East rallied for five runs in the first to take a 5-0 lead. The Mudcats, however, came back in a big way with six runs on four hits to take a 6-5 lead.

Carolina’s five run second began with Micah Bello being hit by a pitch and continued with a double from Alberis Ferrer. Oswal Leones then brought in Bello with a single to left, cutting the deficit to 5-1. After Jose Sibrain reached on an error, Zack Raabe was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Arbert Cipion then delivered a two-run double to make it a two run game at 5-3. Vargas then both tied the game and put Carolina up for good with a two-run single.

All six runs were allowed by starter Josh Stephan, however, only four were earned to him. Stephan (1-1) pitched into the second in his start, but left after recording two outs in that same inning.

Israel Puello started for the Mudcats and pitched around the five early runs while pitching through the sixth and earning the win. Puello (2-2) struck out nine, and pitched around a first inning grand slam while allowing five runs on seven hits in the victory. Karlos Morales worked the seventh while earning his first save of the season.

GAME ONE:

Carolina 6 @ Down East 5

April 29, 2022 | Venue : Grainger Stadium | First pitch : 6:00 PM | Att: | T : 2:25

CAR: 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 1 6 7 0

DE: 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 5 6 5

WP: Christian Tripp (2 - 0) LP: Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa (1 - 1) SV: Trevor Tietz (2)

TOP PERFORMERS - BATTERS:

Perez, CF (Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Bello, DH (Carolina): 2-for-3, 1 R

Mendez, RF (Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

Cipion, LF (Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

Rodriguez, J, 1B (Down East): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B

Osuna, A, DH (Down East): 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Mateo, CF (Down East): 1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

TOP PERFORMERS - PITCHERS:

Jimenez (Carolina): 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO

Tripp (W, 2-0) (Carolina): 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

Tietz (S, 2) (Carolina): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO

Collyer (Down East): 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO

Mendoza, D (Down East): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Hoopii-Tuionetoa (L, 1-1)(BS, 1) (Down East): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO

SCORING:

Wood Ducks 2nd (Wood Ducks 1, Mudcats 0) -- Efrenyer Narvaez walks. Alejandro Osuna singles to right-center field, Efrenyer Narvaez to 2nd. Yosy Galan walks, Efrenyer Narvaez to 3rd; Alejandro Osuna to 2nd. Junior Paniagua flies into sacrifice double play in foul territory, Arbert Cipion to Alberis Ferrer, Efrenyer Narvaez scores; Alejandro Osuna out at 3rd, Yosy Galan to 2nd. Derwin Barreto walks. Daniel Mateo grounds out, Alberis Ferrer to Jesus Chirinos.

(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB)

Mudcats 3rd (Mudcats 1, Wood Ducks 1) -- Micah Bello hit by pitch. Throwing error by Gavin Collyer on the pickoff attempt. Jheremy Vargas grounds out, Maximo Acosta to Jose Rodriguez, Micah Bello to 3rd. Arbert Cipion grounds out, Junior Paniagua to Jose Rodriguez, Micah Bello scores. Alberis Ferrer strikes out swinging.

(1 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors, 0 LOB)

Wood Ducks 4th (Wood Ducks 2, Mudcats 1) -- Efrenyer Narvaez strikes out swinging. Alejandro Osuna hits a home run to right field on a 0-2 pitch. Yosy Galan lines out to Eduardo Garcia. Junior Paniagua grounds out, Alberis Ferrer to Jesus Chirinos.

(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB)

Wood Ducks 6th (Wood Ducks 3, Mudcats 1) -- Jose Rodriguez doubles to right field. Efrenyer Narvaez flies out to Hendry Mendez, Jose Rodriguez to 3rd. Alejandro Osuna out on a sacrifice fly to Hedbert Perez, Jose Rodriguez scores. Yosy Galan strikes out swinging.

(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB)

Wood Ducks 7th (Wood Ducks 4, Mudcats 1) -- Pitcher Change: Christian Tripp replaces Edwin Jimenez. Junior Paniagua flies out to Arbert Cipion. Derwin Barreto singles to left field. Derwin Barreto steals 2nd base. Daniel Mateo out on a sacrifice fly to Hendry Mendez, Derwin Barreto scores. Maximo Acosta grounds out, Eduardo Garcia to Jesus Chirinos.

(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB)

Mudcats 8th (Mudcats 5, Wood Ducks 4) -- Pitcher Change: Leury Tejada replaces Damian Mendoza. Arbert Cipion singles to shallow right field. Alberis Ferrer strikes out swinging. Eduardo Garcia singles to right field, Arbert Cipion to 3rd. Passed ball by Efrenyer Narvaez, Arbert Cipion scores; Eduardo Garcia to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa replaces Leury Tejada on a 2-1 count. Jeferson Quero reaches on throwing error by Derwin Barreto, Eduardo Garcia to 3rd. Hendry Mendez reaches on throwing error by Derwin Barreto, Eduardo Garcia scores; Jeferson Quero to 2nd. Wild pitch by Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, Jeferson Quero to 3rd; Hendry Mendez to 2nd. Hedbert Perez doubles to right field, Jeferson Quero scores; Hendry Mendez scores. Jesus Chirinos grounds out, Maximo Acosta to Jose Rodriguez, Hedbert Perez to 3rd. Micah Bello strikes out swinging.

(4 Runs, 3 Hits, 2 Errors, 1 LOB)

Wood Ducks 8th (Mudcats 5, Wood Ducks 5) -- Marcus Smith walks. Marcus Smith steals 2nd base. Jose Rodriguez grounds out, Jheremy Vargas to Jesus Chirinos, Marcus Smith to 3rd. Efrenyer Narvaez singles to center field, Marcus Smith scores. Alejandro Osuna strikes out swinging. Yosy Galan lines out to Alberis Ferrer.

(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)

Mudcats 9th (Mudcats 6, Wood Ducks 5) -- Jheremy Vargas reaches on throwing error by Derwin Barreto, Jheremy Vargas to 2nd. Arbert Cipion flies out to Daniel Mateo, Jheremy Vargas to 3rd. Alberis Ferrer walks. Eduardo Garcia out on a sacrifice fly to Daniel Mateo, Jheremy Vargas scores; throwing error by Daniel Mateo. Jeferson Quero strikes out swinging.

(1 Runs, 0 Hits, 2 Errors, 1 LOB)

GAME TWO:

Carolina 6 @ Down East 5

April 29, 2022 | Venue : Grainger Stadium | First pitch : 7:45 PM | Att : 1,807 | T : 1:48

CAR: 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 - - 6 6 0

DE: 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 5 7 2

WP: Israel Puello (2 - 2) LP: Josh Stephan (1 - 1) SV: Karlos Morales (1)

HOME RUNS:

Down East: Smith, B (1, 1st inning off Puello, 3 on, 1 out); Galan (3, 1st inning off Puello, 0 on, 1 out).

TOP PERFORMERS - BATTERS:

Cipion, CF (Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Vargas, 3B (Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 RBI

Raabe, 2B (Carolina): 2-for-2, 1 R,

Smith, B, DH (Down East): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI

Galan, CF (Down East): 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Pena, 3B (Down East): 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B

TOP PERFORMERS - PITCHERS:

Puello (W, 2-2) (Carolina): 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO

Morales (S, 1) (Carolina): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Lockhart (Down East): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

McDowell, T (Down East): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO

SCORING:

Wood Ducks 1st (Wood Ducks 5, Mudcats 0) -- Yenci Pena singles to left-center field. Alejandro Osuna singles to left-center field, Yenci Pena to 2nd. Jose Rodriguez strikes out swinging. Tucker Mitchell hit by pitch, Yenci Pena to 3rd; Alejandro Osuna to 2nd. Brady Smith hits a grand slam to left-center field on a 0-1 pitch, Yenci Pena scores; Alejandro Osuna scores; Tucker Mitchell scores. Yosy Galan hits a home run to right field on a 2-0 pitch. Jose Acosta flies out to Micah Bello. Abimelec Ortiz flies out to Micah Bello.

(5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB)

Mudcats 2nd (Mudcats 6, Wood Ducks 5) -- Micah Bello hit by pitch. Alberis Ferrer doubles to center field, Micah Bello to 3rd. Oswel Leones singles to shallow left field, Micah Bello scores; Alberis Ferrer to 3rd. Jose Sibrian reaches on fielding error by Yenci Pena, Alberis Ferrer scores; Oswel Leones to 3rd. Zack Raabe hit by pitch, Jose Sibrian to 2nd. Luis Silva strikes out swinging. Arbert Cipion doubles down the left-field line, Oswel Leones scores; Jose Sibrian scores; Zack Raabe to 3rd. Jheremy Vargas singles to left field, Zack Raabe scores; Arbert Cipion scores; Jheremy Vargas to 2nd; throwing error by Alejandro Osuna. Eduardo Garcia reaches on a fielder's choice out, Jose Acosta to Yenci Pena, Jheremy Vargas out at 3rd. Pitcher Change: Nick Lockhart replaces Josh Stephan. Wild pitch by Nick Lockhart, Eduardo Garcia to 2nd. Micah Bello flies out to Abimelec Ortiz.

(6 Runs, 4 Hits, 2 Errors, 1 LOB)