Wood Ducks Fall in Rain-Soaked Opener

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Wood Duck (0-1, 35-36) bullpen stood tall in a series-opening defeat to the Dash (1-0, 42-29) 4-2 on Thursday night. Kaleb Fontenot and Jacob Shortslef combined to record three scoreless innings with six strikeouts.

Despite falling behind 1-0 after one inning, the Woodies rebounded with back-to-back doubles in the second from Andretty Cordero and Brendon Davis. Cordero was the only Wood Duck hitter with multiple hits as he connected on a pair of doubles.
However the DEWDs had trouble cashing in on opportunities. They left ten runners on base and went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. 
The Dash tagged Down East starter Steven Bruce for back-to-back solo home runs in the fourth inning marking the first occurrence by an opponent in brief Wood Duck history. An unearned run plated in the fifth against the right-hander but he managed three strikeouts in the defeat.
Chuck Leblanc knocked a productive groundout in the sixth inning for his 47th RBI of the season. That swing put the DEWDs within two, but they would leave Alex Kowalcyzk stranded on second base for the final two outs.
In all, the Wood Duck offense was set down in order only twice all night. Winston-Salem starter Tanner Banks won his seventh consecutive start by completing seven innings and only allowing two earned runs.
Just before the bottom of the eighth concluded, rains started pouring onto BB&T Ballpark's surface. Shortslef managed to end the inning on a strikeout, but the rainfall persisted. Dash right-hander Mike Morrison entered in the downpour and threw one pitch in the ninth that sailed out of his hand and to the backstop. The umpires then decided to wait out the storm and put the tarp on the field.
A 30-minute delay passed and play resumed with Novoa knocking a single, Matt Whatley reaching on a fielder's choice, and Leody Taveras drawing a walk. Anderson Tejeda would strike out to end the contest and the rally.
Down East looks to rebound in game two of the series with Walker Weickel (1-6, 4.99) on the mound. He will face Winston-Salem right-hander Luis Martinez (3-4, 4.12) at 7:00 p.m. in the Triad. The Wood Ducks pregame show begins at 6:45 on Sports/Talk 960 The Bull or streamed live on the TuneIn Radio app.