Matthews Strikes Out Nine in Woodies Win

Kannapolis, N.C. – Thanks to an *Alejandro Osuna *three-run home run, the Down East Wood Ducks took the 4-3 win against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Wednesday night. This marks the 31st road victory for the Wood Ducks this season.

Kannapolis (26-66) drew first blood, plating a run in the bottom of the first against Wood Ducks starter John Matthews(W, 3-4).

Down East (53-28) jumped out ahead in the top of the second against Kannapolis starter Martin Carrasco (L, 1-5). Keyber Rodriguez led off with a single and went to second when Cristian Inoa walked in the next at-bat. After a strikeout, Osunahammered a three-run home run (4) to give the Woodies a 3-1 lead.

The Wood Ducks added to their lead in the top of the fifth with one run. Brady Smith *and *Yenci Peña singled to put runners on first and second. Jayce Easley followed with a groundball that forced Peña at second, while Smith went advanced to third. With runners at the corners, Easley stole second (52) and the throw went to center field, which allowed Smith to score for the 4-1 Woodies lead.

Kannapolis tallied two runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 4-3. The Down East bullpen finished off the game with four scoreless innings to secure the win.

Matthews pitched five innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits with a career-high nine strikeouts. Connor Sechler *contributed two scoreless innings with one walk and four strikeouts. *Eudrys Mañon (S, 2) pitched two scoreless innings with two walks and four strikeouts en route to his second save of the season.

The Wood Ducks continue their series with the Cannon Ballers tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. Down East has not named a starter for tomorrow and Kannapolis will send RHP Jesus Valles (3-3, 5.57) to the mound.

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!