McGee Homers but Mudcats Fall 4-3 to Down East

Down East 4 @ Carolina 3

July 24, 2021 | Venue: Five County Stadium | First pitch: 5:00 PM | Att : 4,481 | T : 2:30

LISTEN: Post-Game Radio Interview with Manager Joe Ayrault

ZEBULON – Ashton McGee hit a solo home run in the fourth and Brandon Knarr struck out seven over five and 2/3 innings, but the Wood Ducks totaled seven stolen bases and received a go-ahead home run from Cristian Inoa in the sixth while defeating the Mudcats 4-3 on Saturday night at Five County Stadium.

The Wood Ducks (39-32) jumped out to an early lead on the Mudcats (43-28) after getting three runs in the third against starter Antoine Kelly and reliever Brandon Knarr. Keithron Moss scored the game’s first run after getting a single off Kelly before then stealing both second and third. A walk by Jayce Easley would knock Kelly out of the game and Knarr (5-2, 4.40) would take over with Moss at third and Easley at first. Knarr then attempted to pick off Easley at first, but Moss read the play well and immediately took home while putting the Wood Ducks up 1-0. A two-run double two batters later from Dustin Harris then stretched the lead to 3-0. That double scored Easley and Luisangel Acuna who had reached moments earlier on an error by shortstop Freddy Zamora.

Kelly pitched through two and 1/3 in his start and struck out four while reaching 50 pitches (32 strikes). He also walked two and allowed just one hit. Kelly was also on the mound for four of Down East’s seven stolen bases in the game.

Carolina was down 3-0 in the third before getting a double from Mike Wilson and a RBI single from Gabe Holt in that same frame. McGee then used his fifth home run overall, his first at Five County Stadium, to cut the Down East lead to 3-2 in the fourth. Ernesto Martinez then tied the game in that same fourth inning after walking, stealing second, stealing third and scoring on a wild pitch. The wild pitch occurred with Martinez originally at second and his steal of third allowed him to score all on the same play.

Down East starter Nick Krauth allowed all three Carolina runs and earned the win. Krauth (3-4, 4.34) struck out four, walked two and allowed three runs on four hits over five innings in his start.

The game was tied 3-3 before Cristian Inoa put the Wood Ducks back on top 4-3 with a two-out and two-strike home run off Knarr in the sixth. In all, Knarr ended up allowed one inherited run in the third and a run in the sixth on Inoa’s homer while finishing with two runs (one earned) allowed over five and 2/3 innings. He also struck out seven (against zero walks) and allowed three hits in the loss.

Down East led 4-3 after the sixth and went on to win by that same score after relievers Nick Yoder and Marc Church held the Mudcats scoreless the rest of the way. Yoder allowed just one walk over three scoreless innings. Church (S, 2) then worked a quick ninth with two strikeouts while earning his second save.

The series will continue on Sunday afternoon with the finale of the seven-game series beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Five County Stadium. The series is tied at 3-3 with Sunday’s match-up the rubber game of the series.

HOME RUNS:

Down East HR : Inoa (5, 6th inning off Knarr, 0 on, 2 out).

Carolina HR : McGee (5, 4th inning off Krauth, 0 on, 0 out).

TOP PERFORMERS - BATTERS:

Inoa, 3B (Down East): 1-for-4, 1 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Harris, 1B (Down East): 1-for-4, 0 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI

Moss, 2B (Down East): 1-for-3, 1 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI

McGee, 3B (Carolina): 1-for-3, 1 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Wilson, RF (Carolina): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Holt, DH (Carolina): 1-for-4, 0 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI

TOP PERFORMERS - PITCHERS:

Knarr (L, 5-2) (Carolina): 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO

Hasler (Carolina): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO

Krauth (W, 3-4) (Down East): 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO

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

Church (S, 2) (Down East): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

SCORING:

Wood Ducks 3rd (Wood Ducks 3, Mudcats 0) -- Randy Florentino struck out looking. Keithron Moss singles up the middle. Keithron Moss steals 2nd base. Keithron Moss steals 3rd base. Jayce Easley walks. Pitcher Change: Brandon Knarr replaces Antoine Kelly. Keithron Moss steals home. Luisangel Acuna reaches on throwing error by Freddy Zamora, Jayce Easley to 2nd. Jayce Easley steals 3rd base, Luisangel Acuna steals 2nd base. Dustin Harris doubles through the hole at shortstop, Jayce Easley scores; Luisangel Acuna scores. Cristian Inoa pops into unassisted double play, Felix Valerio, Dustin Harris out at 2nd.

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

Mudcats 3rd (Wood Ducks 3, Mudcats 1) -- Alex Hall strikes out swinging. Michael Wilson doubles to left-center field. Noah Campbell grounds out to Dustin Harris, Michael Wilson to 3rd. Gabe Holt singles to center field, Michael Wilson scores. Freddy Zamora grounds out, Cristian Inoa to Dustin Harris.

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

Mudcats 4th (Wood Ducks 3, Mudcats 3) -- Ashton McGee hits a home run to right field on a 3-2 pitch. Felix Valerio strikes out swinging. Ernesto Martinez walks. Joey Wiemer pops out to Keyber Rodriguez. Ernesto Martinez steals 2nd base. Ernesto Martinez steals 3rd base, Ernesto Martinez scores;wild pitch by Nick Krauth. Alex Hall strikes out swinging.

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

Wood Ducks 6th (Wood Ducks 4, Mudcats 3) -- Luisangel Acuna struck out looking. Dustin Harris strikes out swinging. Cristian Inoa hits a home run to left field on a 0-2 pitch. Angel Aponte strikes out swinging.

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