The Salem Red Sox coaxed five double plays, including one with the bases loaded in the last of the ninth inning, to help aid a 5-2 victory over the Frederick Keys on Friday night at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.
Frederick took an early lead in the contest on a two-out solo homer from Chance Sisco in the last of the first against Kevin McAvoy. The Sox righthander bounced back to retire the following six batters and nine of the next 10 he faced.
The Red Sox lurked in the weeds until the top of the third frame when they tied things on a solo home run from Zach Kapstein. For Kapstein, it was his first homer in a Salem uniform and third in his career.
Salem took the lead for good in the fourth thanks to a two-out rally. Kevin Heller worked a walk and quickly scored on a Mario Martinez double. Martinez also had a short stint on the basepaths as Mauricio Dubon knocked him in with a single in the next at-bat, giving the Red Sox a 3-1 lead.
Two more came in the fifth on two hits and three stolen bases. Kapstein slapped a one-out single and stole second to put himself in scoring position. After Derek Miller walked, the pair executed a double steal to put two in scoring position for Tzu-Wei Lin. The Sox shortstop plated Kapstein with a groundout to first before Miller scored on a single from Yoilan Cerse, giving Salem a 5-1 lead.
Once Salem secured the lead, the defense stepped its game up to prevent Frederick from any rally. The Sox notched twin killings in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings to preserve the cushion. In the ninth, Frederick loaded the bases against Kyle Kamsinka on two singles and an error. Kaminska, though, forced a 4-6-3 double play from Winston Sawyer to end the game and earn his second save.
McAvoy (5-7) cruised after the homer in the first, allowing only one more unearned run in the sixth. He yielded two runs, one earned, on five hits and two walks to go with four strikeouts through six innings pitched.
Mitch Horacek (5-9) was the losing pitcher, as he allowed five runs on six hits over eight innings, striking out four.
Kapstein was 2-for-3 with his first home run and two runs scored and Martinez extended his hitting streak to six games by going 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Salem improved to 44-41 overall and 6-9 in the second half as they took the first of a four-game series with the Keys. Frederick dropped to 38-47 and 6-9 in the losing effort. Game two will take place Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Chris Lee (2-4, 3.94) will start for the Keys while the Red Sox counter with Daniel McGrath (1-1, 1.80). 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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Chris Graham
