FREDERICK, MD – The Frederick Keys fell to the Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees) Friday night, losing by a score of 14-13 at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.
Caden Hunter made his second start on the mound for the Keys and his first start at Nymeo Field at HarryGrove Stadium. He began his start with a pair of strikeouts in the first inning, his 10th and 11th with the Keys.
The Keys found the scoreboard in the bottom of the first as Enrique Bradfield Jr. singled, stole a base and scored on a groundout from Wehiwa Aloy. The run gave the Keys a 1-0 lead after the first inning and was RBI number 40 for Aloy.
Neither team would score in the second before Emmanuel Tejeda lead off the third inning with a double. Josh Moylan followed that extra-base hit with one of his own, a two-run home run to give Hudson Valley itsfirst lead of the game. Luis Durango would single in his first at-bat with Hudson Valley and come around to score, extending the Renegades lead 3-1 after the top of the third inning.
Colin Yeaman scored in the bottom of the third after reaching on a drop third strike and coming in on a sacrifice fly from Bradfield Jr. Douglas Hodo III followed with his second home run in as many games with the Keys, bringing the game to a 3-3 tie.
The Keys drove Renegades starter Rory Fox out of the game after 4.2 innings after scoring seven runs in the fifth inning, featuring RBIs from Bradfield Jr., Aloy, RJ Austin, Leandro Arias, and Colin Yeaman.
Hudson Valley responded in the top of the sixth with three runs, all three of which coming on the second homer of the night for Moylan. The homer would make the score 10-6 before the Keys responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth off a walk by Bradfield Jr. and a double by Hodo III.
Neither team scored in the seventh inning while Hudson Valley got back on the board in the eighth inning with a three-run triple by Core Jackson. From there, a three-run homer gave the Renegades the lead at 13-12 in the frame, with the Keys looking for a late rally at home Friday night.
The Keys trailed 14-12 entering the ninth inning after the Renegades added an insurance run in top-half off back-to-back doubles by Kaeden Kent and Jackson. Vance Honeycutt led off with a double and was driven in on a single by Yeaman but the Keys fell short after two strikeouts and lost by a score of 13-12.
The Keys and Renegades meet for the fifth time in as many days Saturday night, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. from Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.
Saturday’s game represents Star Wars Night with there being a jersey auction benefiting Sophie and Madigan’s Playground. It’s also the second day of Family Fitness Weekend presented by the Frederick County Health Department and postgame fireworks presented by Frederick Health.