Frederick Keys vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks
April 24, 2026 — Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium (Frederick, MD)
Final: Wilmington 7, Frederick 3
The Frederick Keys opened Friday night with five innings of complete control, but a pair of late Wilmington surges flipped the game on its head and sent the Keys to a 7–3 defeat in the fourth matchup of the series.
Frederick starter Juaron Watts‑Brown delivered one of the sharpest outings of the young season. The right‑hander carved through the Blue Rocks lineup with eight strikeouts, allowing no hits and keeping Wilmington off the board through five innings. His pace and command set the tone early, and neither team managed to break through during the opening half of the game.
Momentum shifted abruptly in the sixth. Wilmington finally broke the stalemate by stringing together baserunners and pushing across three runs, seizing the night’s first lead. The Keys answered immediately when Ike Irish launched a solo home run to right, trimming the deficit to 3–1 and briefly reigniting the home crowd.
The seventh inning proved decisive. Wilmington capitalized on traffic against the Frederick bullpen, stacking up four more runs to widen the gap to 7–1. The Keys clawed back in the eighth when Wehiwa Aloy connected for a two‑run homer, his third of the season, cutting the margin to 7–3. But that was as close as Frederick would get.
Relievers Boston Bateman and Jacob Cravey steadied things late with clean innings, but the early offensive drought and Wilmington’s back‑to‑back scoring frames left the Keys with too much ground to make up. Frederick finished with five hits and 11 strikeouts, unable to generate the sustained rally needed to erase the deficit.
Wilmington’s late‑game execution proved the difference, handing the Keys a frustrating loss despite a dominant start from Watts‑Brown and a pair of timely home runs from Irish and Aloy.
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