Trenton, NJ- The Frederick Keys took down the Trenton Thunder for the second straight day Friday night, defeating them by a score of 11-5 at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
The Keys used a six-run top of the fourth inning to pull away early from the Thunder, leading the game from that point on to secure the series split heading into a two-game road series against the State College Spikes beginning on Saturday.
Justin Needles (UNC Asheville) started his night off strong on the mound with a 1-2-3 top of the first, keeping the game tied at 0-0 through an inning of play with the Keys aiming to take an early lead once again.
After both teams went scoreless in the second, Trenton got the first run of the game on an RBI double from Landon Frei, giving the home team an early 1-0 lead going into the fourth at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
The Keys got their first runs in the top of the fourth, with the first run coming in off an RBI infield single from Royce Clayton Jr. (LA Valley College).
An RBI single from Jordan Williams (Florida State) and a two-RBI base hit from Brody Fahr (Presbyterian) gave Frederick three more runs to make it 4-1 in favor of the Keys. Then, Williams scored on an error and an RBI triple from JoJo Jackson (Georgia St) finished off the inning for the Keys with the visiting team now ahead 6-1 through three and a half innings of play.
Even with the Thunder getting one run back in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI groundout, Joe Zhu (Minnesota West) finished the inning strong by retiring the side, keeping it a 6-2 game entering the fifth Friday night.
Trenton however brought home two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on two RBI base hits, cutting the lead in half to 6-4 going into the sixth, with the Keys looking to answer back heading into the second half of the contest in Trenton.
Frederick responded however with a four-run top of the sixth with the first run coming home off a wild pitch that brought home Williams from third and the second run coming off a bases loaded walk drawn by Allan Gil-Fernandez (State College of Florida).
An RBI infield single from Elijah Clayton (Oaks Christian HS) and a wild pitch that scored Johnny Castagnozzi (North Carolina) finished out the sixth inning with a 10-4 lead for Frederick, after Evan Yates (Cal State Fullerton) got a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth on the mound.
Following a scoreless seventh inning for both teams, Yates threw a scoreless bottom of the eighth to take the contest into the ninth with Frederick still out in front by six at 10-4 in Trenton.
Jackson brought home one more run on an RBI single to make it 11-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth, and despite one run coming in during the bottom of the ninth, Jared Ure (Oral Roberts) got two strikeouts to secure the second straight victory for Frederick on Friday night over Trenton by a score of 11-5.
The Keys continue their four-game road trip Saturday night against the State College Spikes with first pitch on Saturday set for 6:35 p.m.
