KINSTON, N.C. (WNCT) — The Down East Wood Ducks dropped both games of a doubleheader with the Carolina Mudcats on Sunday at Grainger Stadium.

The Wood Ducks (6-8) dropped 3-2 and 4-3 decisions to the Mudcats (8-6). Carolina took five of the six games in the series. Down East ended a five-game losing streak with a win Saturday but has now dropped seven of their last eight games.

Down East plays a six-game series at the Fayetteville Woodpeckers starting Tuesday at 6:05 a.m.

Below is a report on both games from the Down East Wood Ducks.

Game 1
The Carolina Mudcats and Down East Wood Ducks started off the day with a doubleheader at noon, due to last night’s game being postponed. Aidan Curry started on the mound for the Wood Ducks in game one with the Mudcats jumping on him early, putting up two runs in the opening frame with a two-run blast by Luke Adams. The Mudcats starter, Aquino threw three scoreless innings against the Woodies before being relieved by Maldonado. Aquino ended the night with 1 hit and 1 walk versus 10 Woodies batters. Curry settled in, throwing 4 more innings, racking up 6 strikeouts.

The Woodies battled back and put two runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning with the aid of two singles, an error and a balk to tie the game, 2-2. Kelley (Woodies) and Guerrero (Mudcats) both relieved in the sixth inning. Kelley pitched 2.0 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts. Guerrero threw 1.0 scoreless inning, before turning the ball over to Pena for the seventh inning. Pena kept the Woodies in check as the game went into extra innings with the score still tied, 2-2.

Jackson Leath came in for the Woodies in the top of the eight with a Mudcats runner starting on second. Leath surrendered a single to the first batter, scoring the runner from second and the Mudcats went ahead 3-2. A flyout and a double play ended the top of the eighth as the Woodies looked to rally once again in Kinston. A Woodies runner started on second against Pena and the bases became juiced with one out, but the Woodies failed to score as Pena struck out the side to earn his second win on the season.

Game 2
In game two the Woodies looked to redeem themselves. The Woodies were the first to score by a solo home run from Miguel Villarroel in the bottom of the second, taking the lead 1-0, against Mudcats starter, Vallecillo. The Woodies starter, Oviedo worked well through three before being jumped on in the fourth, leading to an early exit. The Mudcats mounted 4 runs on two home runs and a balk brought a run in.

The Woodies clawed back in the sixth against Mudcats reliever, Wehrle with a three hit inning to bring the deficit back down to one run. The Mudcats failed to add more runs to the board in the seventh. The Wood Ducks had one last chance to strike. A one out double by Abi Ortiz put a runner in scoring position for the Woodies but failed to advance him further with a lineout and strikeout composing the last two out of the game, resulting in a 4-3 Woodies loss.

The Mudcats (8-6) take the series, 5-1, against the Wood Ducks (6-8). The Wood Ducks go on a two-week road trip to play in Fayetteville and then in Fredericksburg before returning to Grainger Stadium. The Wood Ducks are set to play Delmarva, with first pitch set for 7:00 p.m. on May 9th in Kinston, NC. All fans can come out for Tribute Tuesday presented by Starbucks.

Fans can purchase tickets on woodducksbaseball.com, by calling the Wood Ducks Team Offices at (252) 686-5164 or in the Wood Ducks Team Offices located at Grainger Stadium (Tues-Fri – 10 am – 4 pm).