Kevin Heller worked a bases loaded walk in the top of the tenth inning, providing the winning run for the Salem Red Sox in a wild 3-2 win over the Frederick Keys on Saturday night at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.
In the decisive frame, Salem loaded the bases with nobody out on a walk to Forrestt Allday, a Yoilan Cerse double and an intentional walk to Wendell Rijo. Cody Wheeler then threw four straight pitches out of the zone to walk Heller. Salem had a chance to add more, but new pitcher Nik Nowotttnick retired the next three hitters in order to limit the damage.
Aaron Wilkerson, in his sixth inning of relief, allowed a leadoff single to Josh Hart but quickly retired the next two batters in the bottom of the tenth. Hart took off for second on a 2-1 pitch to Jeff Kemp, but was gunned down by Jordan Procyshen for the third out, giving the Red Sox a 3-2 extra-inning triumph.
An early pitcher’s duel developed through the first five innings with Salem’s Daniel McGrath and Frederick’s Chris Lee silencing the opposing offenses. In his first start back from a nearly two-month stint on the disabled list, McGrath pitched four shutout innings allowing only four hits and one walk. He tossed 49 pitches, 34 of which were strikes.
He faced trouble in the third inning, nearly allowing an inside-the-park home run. Jay Gonzalez sent a fly to left field that Derek Miller dove for and could not track down. Miller was injured on the dive and Forrestt Allday sprinted over from center field to retrieve the ball. Gonzalez went for home as Allday delivered the ball to Jordan Betts who relayed it home where Procyshen was able to get the tag down just in time to retire Gonzalez and keep the game scoreless. Miller was unable to return to the game and was replaced by Cerse.
Salem struck first in the top of the sixth inning. Cerse led off with a walk and a Wendell Rijo double moved him to third base. Two batters later, Mario Martinez floated a single to right and drove in Cerse to give the Sox a 1-0 lead.
The Keys took the lead in the home half of the same frame. Chance Sisco singled with one out against Wilkerson. Kemp then drove him in with a double to tie the game at one. Wynston Sawyer put the Keys on top with an RBI single two batters later and Frederick jumped ahead 2-1.
The Red Sox tied it up in the top of the eighth in the first two at-bats. Cerse started it off by smacking a triple to the right field corner. Rijo then lined a single to right, easily scoring Cerse to tie the game at two.
Cerse was a spark plug off the bench for Salem going 2-for-2 with a double, triple and two runs scored. Rijo added three hits and an RBI while Heller and Martinez contributed two hits and an RBI apiece.
Wilkerson (6-1) worked around a leadoff double in the eighth inning and induced a controversial double play to end the ninth to earn the victory. The typical starter piggybacked off McGrath, tossing six innings of relief. He allowed two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts.
Wheeler (3-1) was settled with the loss by allowing a run on a hit and three walks in an inning-plus of relief. Lee lasted 5.1 innings for Frederick, yielding a run on six hits with two strikeouts in a no-decision.
Salem will look to win the series on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. Ty Buttrey (7-2, 3.12) will start for the Sox while the Keys counter with David Hess (3-4, 4.75). Fans can listen to the game on 1240 AM ESPN Roanoke, online at salemsox.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
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