FREDERICK, MD-Daniel Fajardo hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Frederick Keys (35-34) a 4-3 win over the Down East Wood Ducks (35-35) on Sunday afternoon. The win gave the Keys a winning record in the first half as the Keys won
FREDERICK, MD-Daniel Fajardo hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Frederick Keys (35-34) a 4-3 win over the Down East Wood Ducks (35-35) on Sunday afternoon. The win gave the Keys a winning record in the first half as the Keys won 10 of their final 11 games going into the break.
After Locke St. John retired the first two men of the ninth, Fajardo came up to bat. With two strikes, the Keys catcher launched a solo home run to left field to give the Keys their third walk-off win of the year, and their second of the homestand.
The Wood Ducks jumped out to an early lead against Keys starter Mike Baumann. Leody Taveras hit a one-out single and stole a base. He then scored on an Anderson Tejeda single. Two batters later, Josh Altmann made it a 3-0 game with a two-run home run.
Frederick responded with a run in the bottom of the first. T.J. Nichting led off with a double. He would advance to third on a ground out, and then scored on Wilson Garcia sacrifice fly.
The score remained 3-1 until the Keys tied it up in the fifth. Alejandro Juvier led things off with a single. Stuart Levy then reached on a single, and was retired at second on a fielder's choice that allowed Nichting to reach. Two batters later, Garcia laced a double to center field that plated Juvier and Nichting.
Baumann allowed three runs over five innings, while the Keys combined to shutout the Wood Ducks over the final eight innings. Lucas Humpal fired 2.1 scoreless innings, while Tyler Erwin (1-2) picked up the win in 1.2 innings of relief. St. John (2-2) took the loss after surrendering the walk-off blast.
Frederick will send five players to the Carolina League All-Star game in Zebulon, N.C. on Tuesday. Starting pitchers Cristian Alvarado and Alex Wells will join Erwin on the pitching staff while Ryan McKenna and Preston Palmeiro will represent the Keys position players.
Following the break, the Keys will begin a four-game series in Salem starting on Thursday. They return home for a nine-game homestand on June 25 when the Winston-Salem Dash come to Nymeo Field for the first time in 2018. For tickets, fans can call 301-815-9939 or visit frederickkeys.com.
