Following Saturday night’s win that broke a 15-game losing streak, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers fell flat in the series finale with the Down East Wood Ducks losing 7-1.
Not only did they lose the contest, but Jared Kelley left the game after two batters. Kelley was making start No. 5 since returning from an injury earlier in the season. The White Sox top-10 prospect walked the first batter and immediately had the Cannon Ballers staff visit the mound to check on him.
The visit was lengthy, but Kelley stayed in the game. He was able to get the next batter to groundout. That was Kelley’s last batter as he was taken out of the contest.
The 2020 2nd-round selection didn’t appear to be favoring anything in particular. The noticeable signs were from his low-90’s velocity on the fastball and the command wasn’t all there. It was a hot and humid day at Atrium Health Ballpark, so that may have contributed to his departure. Kelley returned to the dugout later in the contest. 2021 has turned into a season to forget for the soon-to-be 20-year-old.
Kelley’s exit started a bullpen game for the Cannon Ballers and first up in relief was Garvin Alston.
The southpaw allowed the opening run for the Wood Ducks in the first from the Kelley walk. Alston would go on to allow two more runs of his own before leaving with an injury. He was trying to cover first base in an attempt to get a runner retreating to the bag, but ended up falling over him as they came together. He was looked at by the trainer, stayed in for a couple more batters, but didn’t get out of the third inning before succumbing to the pain in his leg.
The Cannon Ballers tried to put together some offensive effort but their chances were few and far between. Their lone run of the contest came in the fourth inning behind a pair of singles from Shawn Goosenberg and Harvin Mendoza. Both players had another multi-hit contest with two knocks apiece.
That led to a Misael Gonzalez ground out which scored Goosenberg, making it a 3-1 contest. With the game still relatively close, the bullpen couldn’t hold on in the latter stages.
2021 8th-round selection Fraser Ellard was called to the mound to pitch in the fifth. The southpaw was able to set the first two Wood Ducks down in order. The two-out rally started behind a missed grab at first on a grounder. That set up a walk and a Xavier Valentin single to put another run on the board for Down East.
Ellard’s woes continued into the sixth where four straight hits pushed two more runs across the plate on a Keithron Moss double, making it a 6-1 contest. Overall, his fastball/slider combo looked alright, just missed the location on a few and gave the Wood Ducks something to bite at.
Later on, the Wood Ducks would put their final run on board in the eight inning with Corey Stone on the bump, getting the score to the 7-1 final. The Cannon Ballers had no real answer at the dish today.
A total of five hits and their only real scoring opportunity, other than the fourth inning, came in the sixth. The bases were loaded with two outs for Jeremiah Burks. He had a solid cut that ended up ten yards shy of getting over the right field wall and making it a one-run contest.
A rough contest all around for the Cannon Ballers: two pitchers left the game due to injuries, the offense couldn’t muster anything for most of the game and the team used six different bullpen arms.
The sour end to the series will lead into a much needed off day before they take on the Lynchburg Hillcats, a newer Low-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Look for Martin Carrasco to get the nod for both contests on Tuesday and Sunday.
Photo credit: Michael Guariglia/FutureSox
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