Wood Ducks Split Doubleheader with Kannapolis

Kinston, N.C. – After falling in game one, 1-0, the Down East Wood Ducks won game two of their doubleheader with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, 7-0. John Matthews *(W, 4-4) spun 5 2/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and *Josh Stephan tossed five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in his Wood Ducks debut earning the Suddenlink Players of the Game.

The Wood Ducks and Cannon Ballers played a tight contest in game one of the doubleheader. After six scoreless innings, Kannapolis (32-73) plated the only run of the game on a bases loaded walk in the top of the seventh to take the 1-0 lead.

In his Wood Ducks debut, Stephantook the no-decision, pitching five scoreless innings with three hits allowed and seven strikeouts. Connor Sechler (L, 3-1) took the loss, pitching two innings, allowing one run on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

In game two, Down East (61-44) plated the first run in the bottom of the second. Jose Acosta *led off with a single and advanced to third on a single by *Angel Aponte. On the play, Aponte advanced to second on a throwing error by Kannapolis left fielder Chase Krogman. Yenci Peña singled to score Acosta for the 1-0 lead.

The Wood Ducks added to their lead in the bottom of the third. *Keyber Rodriguez *was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, Aponte singled to score Rodriguez for the 2-0 lead. IN the ensuing at-bat, Aponte stole second and scored on a double by Peña to give Down East the 3-0 lead.

Down East continued to add to their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Thomas Saggese led off with a triple and scored on a sac fly by Aponte to give the Wood Ducks a 4-0 lead.

The Wood Ducks blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth. Randy Florentino *and *Alejandro Osuna *started the inning with back-to-back singles. *Daniel Mateo, who entered as a defensive sub for Easley in the top of the sixth, singled to load the bases. Cody Freeman hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to push the Woodies lead to 6-0 and Mateo advanced to second. A wild pitch allowed runners to advance to second and third. With two outs and runners on second and third, Acosta walked to load the bases. During the at-bat of Aponte, Mateo scored the seventh run on a wild pitch and that is where the scoring ended.

Matthews(W, 4-4) earned his fourth win of the season as he pitched a season-high 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with one walk and ten strikeouts. Eudrys Mañon shut the door, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

The series continues Friday with first pitch set for 7:00 p.m. RHP *Mason Englert *(6-3, 4.46) will get the ball for Down East and Kannapolis will counter with RHP Andrew Dalquist (2-9, 5.02).

Fans can purchase tickets on woodducksbaseball.com, by calling the Wood Ducks Team Offices at (252) 686-5164 or in the Wood Ducks Team Offices located at Grainger Stadium (Mon-Fri – 9am - 4pm). Make sure to follow your Down East Wood Ducks on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook so you don’t miss anything!