A scoreless game through three quickly became a laugher in the middle innings, with Frederick pounding 14 hits against Red Sox pitching to grab the season opener from Salem 11-1. Brenden Webb swung the mightiest bat, compiling four hits to match Salem’s offensive output by himself. Keys starter Devin Jones retired 12 in a row at one point and permitted just one run in six innings to earn the victory.
Salem starter Mickey Pena eased through the first three frames, but suffered from misfortune during a difficult fourth. On an 0-2 pitch, Michael Ohlman slapped in a double into the left-field corner to lead off the fourth. It was still scoreless, but not after Nick Delmonico blasted a 3-2 pitch for another double to give Frederick a 1-0 lead. Three singles and an error later, Frederick had batted around and scored four times in the fourth to lead 4-zip.
Trailing 5-0 in the sixth, Salem scored its only run on a Keury De La Cruz sacrifice fly that plated Sean Coyle, who reached with his own leadoff double. Unfortunately for the Sox, the 5-1 score quickly shifted when the Keys added five more tallies on a pair of multi-run homers in the bottom of the frame. Trent Mummey laced a liner over the wall in right for a three-run jack, while Brenden Webb also took Heri Quevedo deep, launching a two-run bomb over the left-center field fence.
Webb finished 4-for-5 with three RBI, while Mummey drove in four runs in Frederick’s season-opening victory. Each of Salem’s top four hitters—Coyle, Deven Marrero, De La Cruz, and Brandon Jacobs—finished with one hit apiece, while the bottom five men in the order all came up empty except for Henry Ramos’ fifth inning walk.
Incredibly, Salem’s Opening Day loss, win, loss, win streak continued, with Salem alternating a loss and then a win on Opening Day every year since 2005. Salem last won back-to-back season lid-lifters in 1987 and 1988.
The Red Sox look to rebound from Friday’s clunker on Saturday afternoon during the Carolina League debut of highly-touted pitching prospect Henry Owens. The southpaw from California will square off against Keys’ righty Tyler Wilson in the middle-matchup matinee. First pitch is set for 2:00.
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Chris Graham
