5-2 Carolina Comeback Sweeps Keys

Zebulon, NC - Carolina utilized four straight singles, a passed ball, and two wild pitches to score three in the sixth to come-from-behind and defeat the Keys 5-2 on Thursday night at Five County Stadium. With the loss, Frederick has equaled its season-high of five straight losses and are 0-10 against the Mudcats this season.

The Keys took a 2-1 advantage in the fifth thanks to a second RBI sacrifice fly by Chance Sisco, but Carolina scored four unanswered in the sixth and seventh.

Luis Gonzalez, who allowed two hits and one run through his first five frames, recorded the first two outs of the sixth via a flyout by Reed Harper and strikeout of Dustin Peterson. Jacob Schrader followed with a floater to right field that plunged in front of Tad Gold to start the rally. Carlos Franco singled, and Joe Odom punched Gonzalez out of the game by singling home Schrader to even it up.

Jimmy Yacabonis replaced Gonzalez and inherited Franco at first and Odom on second. With Joey Meneses at the plate, Sisco couldn't handle a pitch to advance them both into scoring position. Yacabonis then lost the zone, bouncing one past Sisco for a wild delivery to plate Franco and 3-2 Mudcats lead. Meneses scorched a single to score Odom from second, and the Muddies had a two-run cushion.

After a 53-minute rain delay, the Keys scored in the first inning against Seth Webster thanks to speed and situational hitting. Josh Hart led off with a single up the middle, stole second, and advanced to third on a flyout by Tanner Witt. Sisco stepped in and skied one deep enough to center to score Hart and 1-0 lead. Webster (6-6) went 6.2 innings, allowed seven hits, two runs, and struck out seven.

Carolina answered in the last of the first. Conor Lien laid down a bunt down the third base line to start things off. Reed Harper followed with a base hit of his own to put them on the corners. Dustin Peterson flied out to right field to score Lien and make it an even game. Gonzalez (5-8) wouldn't allow another hit until Schrader's single in the sixth. He tossed 5.2 innings, allowed five hits, four runs (three earned), walked one, and struck out a season-high-tying seven.

Justin Jackson replaced Webster with two out in the seventh and retired all seven he faced in earning his second save. In the series, the Carolina bullpen tossed 10.1 innings of four-hit, scoreless baseball.

The Keys look to snap a five-game losing skid on Friday against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Southpaw Mitch Horacek (6-11, 4.61) is on the mound against Pelicans right-hander Paul Blackburn (4-4, 3.82). First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. and the broadcast can be heard on 1450 AM The Source and frederickkeys.com. It is 90's Nickelodeon Night, where the Keys will sport Rugrats-themed uniforms and raffle them off, and post-game fireworks presented by Tilted Kilt Frederick. For tickets, fans can call 301-815-9939 or visit frederickkeys.com.