Wood Ducks Walk Off Cannon Ballers

Kinston, N.C. – Despite trailing early, the Down East Wood Ducks earned the 6-5 walk off win against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Friday night. Thomas Saggese earned the Suddenlink Player of the Game with a walk off single.

Kannapolis (32-74) took the early lead, plating one run in the second and two in the third for a 3-0 lead.

Down East (62-44) tied the game in the bottom of the third. Daniel Mateo *led off with a single, while *Jayce Easley *walked and *Aaron Zavala was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Luisangel Acuña hit a two-run single to cut the deficit to 3-2. With runners on first and second, Cristian Inoa *walked to load the bases again and *Yenci Peña drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game at three.

The Wood Ducks took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Easley walked and advanced to second on a single by Zavala, his first hit with Down East. During Acuña’s at-bat, Easley stole third (66) and Zavala stole second (1) to put runners at second and third.

Down East added one insurance run in the bottom of the fifth. *Cody Freeman *reached second on an error and scored on a double by Inoa for the 5-3 lead.

Kannapolis came back, plating a run in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game at five.

The Wood Ducks entered the bottom of the ninth tied with Kannapolis. Acuña led off with an infield single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Saggese singled to drive in the winning run as Down East took the 6-5 walk off win.

Mason Englert took the no-decision, pitching five innings while allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts. Eris Filpo pitched two innings, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Theo McDowell (W, 1-0) earned his first win of the season as he pitched two scoreless innings, allowing two hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

The Wood Ducks and Cannon Ballers continue their series tomorrow with first pitch set for 6:00 p.m. RHP *Nick Krauth *(4-7, 4.21) will take the bump for Down East and Kannapolis will send RHP Martin Carrasco (1-7, 5.87) to the hill.

Fans can purchase tickets on woodducksbaseball.com, by calling the Wood Ducks Team Offices at (252) 686-5164 or in the Wood Ducks Team Offices located at Grainger Stadium (Mon-Fri – 9am - 4pm). Make sure to follow your Down East Wood Ducks on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook so you don’t miss anything!