GRANVILLE, WV – The Frederick Keys suffered a series opening loss to the West Virginia Black Bears Saturday night, falling by a score of 6-2 at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
The Keys scored two runs in the top of the fourth but did not score the rest of the night, as they will look to finish the five-game road trip strong Sunday night in the series finale at West Virginia.
After both teams went scoreless in the first inning of the night, West Virginia brought home two runs in the bottom of the second on two RBIs, handing the home team a 2-0 lead through two innings of play in the series opener.
Following a scoreless bottom of the third thrown by Esteban Rodriguez (Richmond) which kept it a 2-0 game, the Keys tied the game at two apiece on a two-RBI double from Isaiah Greene, but an RBI triple in the bottom of the frame put the home team back up 3-2 going into the fifth at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
A two-run homer for West Virginia extended the lead to three at 5-2 entering the sixth, with the Keys still fighting on both sides going into the final four innings in the first of two games on the road.
Valek Cisneros (Central Oklahoma) threw a scoreless bottom of the sixth with one strikeout as well, as the game moved into the seventh with Frederick only down 5-2 Saturday night.
After Griffin Green (Wake Forest) threw a scoreless bottom of the seventh to keep it a three-run game, the Black Bears added one more run on an RBI single, pushing the lead to four at 6-2 heading into the ninth in Morgantown.
The Keys however went down in order in the top of the ninth, as the Black Bears hung on for the four-run win Saturday night by a score of 6-2 at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
The Keys conclude the five-game road trip Sunday night against the Black Bears, with first pitch for game two of the series set for 6 p.m. at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
