FREDERICK, MD – The Frederick Keys suffered a series finale loss to the Williamsport Crosscutters Sunday afternoon, losing by a score of 14-5 at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.
The Crosscutters led from wire-to-wire in the series finale on the road in Frederick, as the Keys look ahead to a seven-game road trip starting Monday night against the State College Spikes
With both teams going off the board in the first inning to begin the ballgame, Harold Baez (Bethune-Cookman) got a second straight 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, keeping it a 0-0 game through two innings to open up the afternoon.
The Crosscutters got two RBI doubles in the top of the third to take a 2-0 lead, as the visitors took the early lead by two heading into the fourth in Frederick.
Despite Williamsport scoring two more runs in the top of fourth, RBIs from Trey Lipsey (Ohio State) and Jamal Ritter (Norfolk St) cut the deficit in half to 4-2 going into the fifth in the Key City.
The visitors put home two additional runs in the top of the fifth, but the Keys responded with three runs off RBI base hits from Cam Pittman (Virginia Tech), Isaiah Greene, and Taj Bates (Southern), making it a one-run game at 6-5 entering the sixth at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.
Williamsport however added three more runs in the top of the sixth on several RBI singles, pushing their advantage back to four at 9-5 heading into the seventh in the series finale.
After both teams went off the board in the seventh, the Crosscutters exploded for five runs in the top of the eighth with the frame capped off by a three-run homer, as Frederick went into the ninth down by nine at 14-5 Sunday afternoon.
Ian Cooke (Connecticut) threw a scoreless top of the ninth with two strikeouts, but Williamsport held on for the nine-run win Sunday afternoon to win the series two games to one.
The Keys begin a six-game road trip Monday night against the State College Spikes, with first pitch for the first of two games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park set for 6:35 p.m.
