May 23, 2019 – Frederick Keys 8, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7 (11 innings) – Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium

https://www.milb.com/frederick/news/reyes-walks-it-off-for-frederick/c-307398486

 

Umpires: HP: Reed Basner. 1B: John Budka.

Weather: 71 degrees, Partly Cloudy.

Wind: 5 mph, Calm.

First pitch: 11:00 AM.

Time: 3:38.

Attendance: 6,232.

 

Section 204, Row K, Seat 17 – second section from the middle on the third-base side, second row below the concourse, on the aisle

 

It was a good news / bad news / good news kind of day at Frederick. It was all good for the first 5 innings, as Baltimore’s 2017 first-round draft pick, southpaw DL Hall, blanked the visitors in dominant fashion, allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk while fanning 10. Meanwhile, the Keys turned 4 straight singles into 2 runs in the bottom of the 2^nd, and added one more in the 5^th on a Trevor Craport RBI double.

 

Things quickly broke bad from there, when Travis Seabrooke relieved Hall to start the 6^th and allowed a pair of 2-run homers. The Pelicans then added single tallies in each of the next 3 innings, countered only by a single Keys run in the 8^th.

 

Trailing 7-4 in the bottom of the 9^th, however, Zach Jarrett (son of NASCAR legend Dale) hit a 3-run homer with one out to tie the game.

 

This was the first extra-inning minor-league game I had seen since the recent rules change that starts each half-inning after the 9^th with a runner on second base, to increase the chances of scoring (and thus ending the game more quickly). This didn’t particularly bother Frederick reliever Steven Klimek in the top of the 10^th, as he struck out the first two batters and retired the third on a grounder.

 

Frederick went for the jugular in the bottom of the frame, pinch-running Jake Ring at second base for Ryan Ripken (son of Cal Jr.). After Sean Miller failed to bunt him over, he got to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded there as the next two batters grounded out.

 

Klimek didn’t have it as easy the next inning, walking two batters with one out to load the bases, but escaped on a nicely-turned double play. Third-baseman Jomar Reyes, spending his 4^th consecutive season with the Keys, hit a ground-rule double with one out in the bottom of the frame to end it, sending the remnants of the STEM Day crowd home happy, at least until the torrential rains hit shortly thereafter.