Keys Suffer Series Opening Loss to Spikes on the Road
July 23, 2024 - Major League Baseball Draft League (MLBDL)
Frederick Keys News Release
State College, PA - The Frederick Keys dropped the first of four games to the State College Spikes Tuesday night, losing by a score of 14-7 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The Keys took an early 5-2 lead after the first inning and a half of play, but a 10-run bottom of the fourth for the Spikes proved to be the difference as State College earned the series opening win at home over the Keys.
Three runs came around to score in the top of the first for the Keys after RBI hits from Elijah Dickerson (Towson), Hunter Antillon (Utah), and Brandon Hylton (Stetson), making it 3-0 in favor of Frederick through the first half inning.
However, State College came back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first to trim the deficit to one at 3-2 heading into the second at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The Keys added two runs in the top of the second courtesy of more RBIs from Dickerson and Antillon, bumping the lead up to three at 5-2 going into the third following a scoreless second inning from Nate Lamb (North Greenville) on the mound.
After each team went scoreless in the third, State College scored 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of several bases loaded walks and a grand slam from Cam Bufford, giving the Spikes a 12-5 lead entering the fifth Tuesday night.
Following a scoreless bottom of the fifth from Joe Miceli (Kent State) that kept it a 12-5 game approaching the sixth, the Spikes tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-RBI double, putting the lead for State College up to nine at 14-5 heading into the seventh.
Christian Diaz (Houston Christian) recorded a scoreless bottom of the seventh and eighth in relief, keeping his team in the contest going into the ninth, even with the Spikes still leading it 14-5 heading into the final frame.
Despite Frederick scoring two runs in the top of the ninth on a two-RBI single from Christian Jackson, the Keys fell in the first game of the three-game series to the Spikes, losing the opening contest 14-7 Tuesday night on the road.
The Keys and Spikes will face off for the second time in as many days Wednesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m.
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