GREENVILLE, SC – The Frederick Keys earned the series win over the Greenville Drive (Red Sox) after winning the series finale Sunday afternoon by a score of 17-6 at Fluor Field at the West End.
The Keys got a season-high 25 base hits in the victory on the road, as they finished the last two games with a combined 45 base knocks after recording 20 hits in game two on Saturday, as they begin the nine-game road trip with a 2-1 record through the first three games down south.
After both teams went off the board in the first inning to begin the afternoon, Greenville took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a three-run homer to right, but Keys starter JT Quinn struck out his fourth batter of the frame to keep it a 3-0 game in favor of the Drive through the first two innings.
Each side brought home one run in the third inning with an RBI double from Creed Willems getting the run home for Frederick, while an RBI base hit for the Drive in the bottom frame made it a 4-1 game heading into the fourth.
Following the Keys and Drive going scoreless in the fourth, a two-run homer hit by Ike Irish and a three-run homer hit by Victor Figueroa in the top of the fifth put Frederick ahead by two at 6-4. Despite the Drive getting a run back on a solo homer in the bottom frame, the Keys still took a 6-5 lead going into the sixth in Greenville.
An RBI single from Irish into shallow center field put Frederick up by two at 7-5, with the score remaining the same entering the seventh after Cohen Achen tossed a scoreless bottom frame.
Frederick sent in six runs during the top of the seventh with three home runs also being hit as part of that inning. Colin Tuft led off the inning with a solo homer to right, with Irish hitting his second homer of the afternoon to left-center field, and Creed Willems hitting one to right field. Along with an RBI double from Victor Figueroa, the six-run frame put the Keys ahead by eight at 13-5 approaching the eighth at Fluor Field at the West End.
With both teams finishing with zeros in the eighth, Tuft hit his second homer of the afternoon with his two-run blast making it 15-5 in favor of Frederick, and then an error sent home two more runs to make it a 17-5 game approaching the bottom of the ninth.
Despite the Drive getting one run in the bottom of the ninth inning, Braeden Sloan finished the game strong on the mound, securing the Keys the victory by a score of 17-6 Sunday afternoon over the Drive.
Frederick continues their nine-game road trip with a six-game series against the Rome Emperors in Rome, Georgia. First pitch for game one of the series is set for 6:45 p.m. from AdventHealth Stadium.