ZEBULON, N.C. - Tucker Neuhaus hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth to lift the Mudcats to a 3-2 series clinching victory versus the Frederick Keys on Wednesday afternoon at Five County Stadium. With the win, the first place Mudcats finished their first home stand of the season
ZEBULON, N.C. - Tucker Neuhaus hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth to lift the Mudcats to a 3-2 series clinching victory versus the Frederick Keys on Wednesday afternoon at Five County Stadium. With the win, the first place Mudcats finished their first home stand of the season with a 5-2 record and with back-to-back series victories.
Neuhaus led the way for the Mudcats (5-2) after going 2-for-4 with one RBI, a run and his second home run of the season. He also stretched his season opening hit streak to seven straight games.
The Keys (4-3) got a strong start out of pitcher Alex Wells, but ended up committing five errors in the loss while also going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Wells worked through six innings with just one unearned run allowed on two hits. He also struck out five and walked one while finishing without a decision. Reliever Tyler Erwin suffered the loss after allowing Neuhaus' homer in the eighth. It was the only hit Erwin (0-1, 1.80) allowed over his two inning relief effort. In all, he gave up two runs (one earned) and struck out two in the loss for the Keys.
Carolina's Chase Williams earned the victory out of the bullpen after working through two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Williams (1-0, 0.00) worked a scoreless eighth and ninth and did so after reliever Miguel Sanchez left the game with two scoreless innings of his own. Sanchez, however, did allow two of three inherited runners to score in the sixth. Those three runners were inherited from starter Marcos Diplan who worked through five plus innings with just two unearned runs allowed on five hits. He also walked two and struck out three.
The Mudcats did strike first in Wednesday's morning start as they got a run across in the third with help of the first of Frederick's five errors in the game. It was Dallas Carroll who scored that first run against Wells and the Keys early in the game. He started the frame with a one-out walk and then went from first to third on a line drive single to right from Neuhaus. A throwing error by Jake Ring in right then allowed Carroll to score on that hit by Neuhaus, giving the Mudcats a 1-0 lead.
The Keys later came back with two runs in the sixth off Diplan and Sanchez. Cole Billingsley and Ryan McKenna both singled to start the frame and Diplan then walked Randolph Gassaway before he was pulled from the game. A passed ball charged to Max McDowell scored the first Keys run and a RBI groundout from Preston Palmeiro scored the second.
The Keys led 2-1 after the sixth, but the Mudcats tied the game in the seventh when Luis Aviles Jr. Jr. scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Ryan Aguilar in the seventh. The Mudcats then got Neuhaus' solo blast to start their half of the eighth while taking the finale 3-2.
The Mudcats totaled three runs in the victory, but did so on just three hits. They were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.
The Mudcats next play on the road in Winston-Salem beginning on Thursday night with the first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at BB&T Ballpark. RHP Trey Supak will have the start for the Mudcats in Thursday's series opener against the Dash in Winston-Salem. LHP Bernado Flores, meanwhile, will have the start for the Dash. The game will air on the Mudcats Radio Network, The Big Dawg 98.5 FM and online at carolinamudcats.com via TuneIn Radio. It will also stream via live video on MiLB.tv.
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