(LA PLUME, Pa.) – The season came to an end in the second round of the United East Championship as No. 9 Wilson fell to top-seed Keystone in both games of a Friday doubleheader. The Phoenix held there own for almost all of the opener only to see the Giants pull away late. In Game 2, the hosts took an early lead and kept adding to it to take the series sweep.
The Basics
Scores: Game 1 – No. 9 Wilson 1, No. 1 Keystone 12
Game 2 – No. 9 Wilson 2, No. 1 Keystone 14
Venue: Christy Mathewson Field
Records: Wilson 9-27, Keystone 31-9
How It Happened (Game 1)
- Adrian Lugo (Sr., San Juan, Puerto Rico / Manuel Cruz Maceira) took the bump for the Blue and White and had another quality start, doing his best to keep the Giants' bats stymied for the better part of seven innings. Keystone was able to plate a run in the fourth, but it was unearned. Another run followed in the sixth.
- Wilson was there first to light up the scoreboard thanks to Tyler Smith (So., Crofton, Md. / Archbishop Spalding). He did so in the top of the fourth by leading off the frame with a solo home run over the left field fence.
- Keystone took over in the eighth inning starting with a lead-off home run. It became an avalanche-effect as they added six additional hits for nine more runs to make it a 12-1 score which ended up as the final difference.
How It Happened (Game 2)
- Keystone kept the momentum for the start of Game 2 with a pair of runs in the first inning. After a pair of singles to open the frame, a sacrifice fly allowed one run to come in before an infield error helped make it a 2-0 game.
- The Giants slowly added to it with two more in the third, one in the fifth, and two in the sixth. They doubled up the total to that point in the eighth. Wilson avoided the shutout as Jordan Daphney (Sr., Countryside, Fla. / Countryside) scored on a passed ball and Ryan Torres (Sr., Baltimore, Md. / Archbishop Curley) added another run after Charles Musser (So., Thurmont, Md. / Linganore) singled to right to set up the final score.
Inside The Numbers
- Lugo finished with seven strikeouts to give him 20 in the past seven days. He finishes with 63 on the season and 125 for his career.
- Smith and Daphney both had multiple-hit games for the opener. Samuel Martin (So., Maugansville, Md. / North Hagerstown / Hagerstown C.C.) did so in Game 2.
- Smith ends the year on an eight-game hit streak and was a triple shy of the cycle across both games. He added a double in Game 2 to give him three in the past four games.
- Daphney had a pair of doubles, one in each game, to give him a dozen for the season.
- Harry Middlebrooks (So., Bel Air, Md. / Archbishop Curley) extended his reached base streak to 27 consecutive games to end the year.
