McKenzie dazzles in debut, Ducks win 7-4

RubberDucks 7 Fisher Cats 4
WP: Triston McKenzie (1-0) LP: Jordan Romano (8-1) Save: Mitch Brown (4)
 
Summary
Akron's Triston McKenzie dazzled onlookers in his Double-A debut, and Andrew Calica socked a two-run homer, as the RubberDucks defeated the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 7-4, Thursday night at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester, N. Hamp.

Turning Point
The RubberDucks (34-26) scored three times in the seventh inning to chase Cats starter Jordan Romano from the game and build a 7-1 lead. Sam Haggerty led off the inning with a solo homer to right field, his second of the season. After a walk to Ka'ai Tom and a single by Tyler Krieger, Romano (8-1) was lifted in favor of right-hander Brayden Bouchey. Calica moved the runners with a sacrifice and Willi Castro flew out, but Joe Sever walloped a two-run double off the wall in left to chase home Tom and Krieger to give Akron a 7-1 lead.
Mound Presence
McKenzie (1-0) made his Akron and season debut.  Activated earlier in the day from the disabled list, the 20-year-old dealt five shutout inning, giving up just one hit. He worked four hitless innings before surrendering a lead-off single to Gunnar Heidt in the fifth. McKenzie fanned four, issued a pair of walks and hit a batter.  Of his 63 pitches, 43 were strikes. He began the year on the disabled list after suffering forearm tightness in spring training.  McKenzie is Cleveland's No. 2 prospect behind former Ducks catcher Francisco Mejía.
Duck Tales 
Calica drilled a long homer to right field in the third inning when the Ducks jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the previously-unbeaten Romano. It was Calica's second homer of the series and third of the year. Before Calica's blast, Romano committed a throwing error that allowed two runs to score, eerily similar to the busted play the RubberDucks made to lose the game on Wednesday.
Notebook
The Fisher Cats (35-24) rallied for three runs in the eighth against Nick Pasquale and Mitch Brown to pull to within 7-4…The rally ended when Tom threw out Juan Kelly at the plate to retire the side…Brown made quick work of the Cats in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning, including two punch-outs, to record his fourth save…The Ducks took two out of three in the series …Time of game: 2:32… Attendance: 4,013.
On the Pond
The RubberDucks will open the second leg of the road trip with the first of three games at Portland on Friday night at 6:35. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1350 AM, the WARF iHeart channel, and the TuneIn Radio App.