Wood Ducks and Mudcats Split Doubleheader

KINSTON, NC - The second doubleheader of the season for the Wood Ducks ended in a split with the Mudcats. It was a tale of opposites with the pitching staff allowing seven runs in game one, followed by a one-hit shutout in game two.
Between the contest, the Woodies hit three home runs, including back-to-back homers in game two from Michael O'Neill and Josh Altmann .

GAME ONE: Mudcats 7, Wood Ducks 2
Emerson Martinez faced the minimum through two innings against the Mudcats, but the Woodies offense missed a couple of chances to score in the first three innings. Cody Ponce left a runner stranded on third in two of the first three innings.
Carolina would get on the board in the third thanks to an RBI double from Cooper Hummel. Martinez recovered with a man on second and no one out to leave him stranded with two strikeouts and a groundout. He would not have the same success two innings later.
The fifth inning began with each of the first three hitters reaching safely to load the bases against Martinez. A single by Weston Wilson and a sacrifice fly by Corey Ray extended the Mudcats lead to 3-0. Troy Strokes Jr. singled to reload the bases for Isan Díaz with one out. Martinez worked ahead 0-2 on the lefty, but he connected on the next pitch for his first grand slam of the 2017 season.
Later, in the sixth, the Wood Ducks got on the board thanks to a Ledarious Clark two-run home run - his fourth of the season. Scott Williams worked the final two innings for Down East on the mound and retired all six batters he faced.
Game one's loss again halted the Woodies' winning streak at two games. The club is still waiting on its first three-game winning streak since games three through five at the start of the season.
GAME TWO: Wood Ducks 4, Mudcats 0
The finale of the doubleheader took a complete 180º from game one on the mound. Tyler Davis started his third game of the season and kept the Mudcats off-balance with four strikeouts. Through four innings, the only baserunner he had allowed was a walk to Stokes Jr.
Down East's offense arrived in the second inning when O'Neill knocked a single into right-center and promptly stole second base during Altmann's at-bat. Josh would rip a single up the middle to score O'Neill and allow the Woodies to score first, 1-0.
The duo would reconnect in the fourth inning when they took Carolina starter Marcos Diplán yard on back-to-back pitches. O'Neill extended his team lead in home runs with seven, while it was Altmann's sixth.
Davis was done after four innings, and Brady Feigl inherited the shutout and the no-hitter in its infancy. He struck out the first two batters of the fifth, but allowed a single through the left side to Max McDowell. It would be the only hit Carolina would claim in game two, as Feigl retired the next seven batters in a row to claim his third win of the season.
Clark added one more in the sixth inning on a Clark sacrifice fly to score Arturo Lara - who hit his first double since May 2nd to reach base.
As a point of emphasis for the strong pitching performance the Wood Ducks received: Davis and Feigl combined to face 25 batters, delivering a first-pitch strike to 23 of them.
Thursday's first-half series finale serves as a rubber match in the series at Grainger Stadium. The Wood Ducks (18-28) will throw left-hander Wes Benjamin (2-4, 6.75) on the mound. While Carolina (25-21) will counter with righty Freddy Peralta (0-1, 3.09).
First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at $1 Beer Night presented by Bud Light. You can listen to every pitch of the 2017 season live on. Sports/Talk 960 The Bull or streamed on the TuneIn Radio app.