Brilliant pitching and sensational defense filled 16 entertaining innings, but after four hours and 15 minutes, the Keys surpassed the Red Sox 3-2 on Friday night at LewisGale Field. Michael Ohlman’s double to the gap scored Sammie Starr with two outs in the top of the 16th, breaking a tie that had stood since the eighth. While the Red Sox threatened repeatedly in the extra innings, Salem went silently in their final chance against Gene Escat, the fifth Frederick pitcher of the game.
Incredibly, Starr’s single to begin the 16th was Frederick’s first hit in extras. Three Red Sox relievers tossed seven no-hit innings from the ninth through the 15th, but Salem never delivered the knockout punch to end it. When Nick Natoli laced a deep drive to left-center with two on and two out in the last of the 12th, it looked like the game would end there. But Keys center fielder Glynn Davis made a superhuman diving catch near the warning track to deny Salem’s walk-off bid.
It’s easy to forget the starters in a 16-inning odyssey, but that would be a disservice to Mike Augliera and Tim Berry, who both dazzled through the first seven innings. Augliera permitted two hits through seven scoreless, while Berry took a no-hitter into the seventh and a shutout in the eighth. The first seven frames went by in a hurry, with no runners even reaching third base before the eighth.
Kyle Kraus relieved Augliera and failed to perpetuate the pitching dominance. The first four batters reached against Kraus, with Tucker Nathans’ single driving in Allan de San Miguel to give the Keys a 1-0 lead in the top of the eighth. With the bases loaded and nobody out, two straight fielder’s choices allowed the Sox to gun down to Keys runners at home. With two gone, however, Kraus walked Ohlman on a 3-2 pitch to force in a run. The Keys led 2-0, and with Berry retaking the mound, it seemed like Salem’s chances were slim.
But David Chester led off with a bloop single, and after Carson Blair’s sharply struck line-out, Cody Koback ripped a double to put the tying runners in scoring position. Ashur Tolliver relieved Berry and surrendered back-to-back RBI singles to Natoli and Matty Johnson, evening the score at two. With men at first and second, the Sox had a glorious chance to take the lead, but Tolliver induced flyouts from Henry Ramos and Deven Marrero to keep things tied into the ninth.
In the extras, the Sox put runners aboard in the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, but never capitalized. Miguel Chalas tossed three scoreless out of the Keys bullpen, while Lex Rutledge tossed two scoreless innings to earn the win before Escat saved it. Kraus bounced back from his rocky eighth to toss two more shutdown frames, while Nate Striz dealt three hitless innings and Robby Scott dealt two scoreless before the Keys scratched Scott in the 16th.
In 16 innings, there were only 11 combined strikeouts (seven for Keys pitchers and just four for Red Sox hurlers) and three measly hits with runners in scoring position. Numerous balls were hit hard, but both teams delivered a plethora of stunning defensive gems to keep the game moving. The first nine innings were played in two hours and 22 minutes, while the seven extras took one hour and 53 minutes.
Before Ohlman’s game-winning hit, the first five Keys hitters were a combined 0-for-31. Johnny Ruettiger, Davis, Ohlman, Aaron Baker, and Jerome Pena combined to finish 1-for-33 in the game, but Ohlman’s RBI double in the 16th boosted Frederick to victory.
Nick Natoli was the only Salem batter to finish with multiple hits; he went 2-for-5 with a walk. Henry Ramos and Keury De La Cruz were the only Sox starters to go hitless, as they each finished 0-for-6.
Speaking of hitless, Henry Owens will carry his remarkable 15.2 innings streak without allowing a hit into Saturday’s series finale. Owens starts for the Sox, while Brady Wager goes for the Keys. First pitch is slated for 6:05.
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