Woodies are Championship Bound!
9/15 Game Recap By: Jackson Pass In game three of the Playoff Division Series between the Carolina Mudcats and the Down East Wood Ducks, DJ McCarty started on the mound for the Woodies, throwing 20 pitches in the first with two strikeouts on as the Mudcats had one batter reach
9/15 Game Recap
By: Jackson Pass
In game three of the Playoff Division Series between the Carolina Mudcats and the Down East Wood Ducks, DJ McCarty started on the mound for the Woodies, throwing 20 pitches in the first with two strikeouts on as the Mudcats had one batter reach base on a throwing error. The Woodies jumped on the board with two runs from a Piotto double with Scott and Villarroel on base to take the early lead. In the second, McCarty retired three straight Mudcats batters on two infield pop-ups and a strikeout to end the frame. Galindez settled down in bottom of the second, striking out two of the three Mudcats he faced. O’Rae was the only Mudcat to reach in the third as McCarty limited him to first base, getting out of the inning on a shallow center.
In the middle innings, the Mudcats reached scoring position twice from the fifth through the sixth as the Woodies were shutdown, nine up nine down by Mudcats reliever Figueroa. The Woodies threatened in the seventh with Moller on third and the Mudcats escaped with a double play to end the inning. The Mudcats tied the game in the eighth with a two run bomb from Luke Adams. After the Mudcats tied the game, neither team reached scoring position in the rest of the nine innings as the game pushed into extras.
In the tenth, Mercado pinch ran for Castillo, starting on second base. An infield single and an error pushed Guilarte across the board for the Mudcats to take the lead 3-2. In the bottom half, Moller started on second base and with one out, Hurdle singled to score Moller and tie up the game. In the eleventh, Sibrian started on first as Chi, relieving for the Woodies, got two flyouts before loading the bases on two walks. Daniel Guilarte pinch hit for Mercado, striking out looking as Chi held the game to a tie. The Woodies started on second base with Mendez replacing Scott as a pinch runner. A wild pitch by the Mudcats reliever, Rodriguez, advanced Mendez to third base. In an identical play as last night Villarroel hit a fly ball to right field, Mendez came charging home and slid in just before the tag was placed on him. SAFE AT HOME, SAFE AT HOME, WOODIES WALK IT OFF TO ADVANCE TO THE CAROLINA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Wood Ducks and the Charleston RiverDogs will play game on of the Carolina League Championship Series on September 17th at 1pm.
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 (Tues-Fri – 10am - 4pm). Make sure to follow your Down East Wood Ducks on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Facebook so you don’t miss anything!