Elimination Bracket Final
#3 Cape Fear River Ducks vs. #4 Eels
Final: Ducks 11 – Eels 7
With a trip to the Championship Round on the line, the River Ducks outlasted the Eels in a tense, high-scoring battle to punch their ticket to face the Northern Lights.
Game Flow:
Early innings: Ducks struck first with 3 runs in the 2nd, but the Eels clawed back with 2 in the 4th.
Middle stretch: Pitching and defense took over until the 7th, when both offenses erupted — Ducks plated 3 to go up 6–2, but the Eels stormed back with 5 runs in the bottom half to take a 7–6 lead.
Turning point: The Ducks roared back in the 8th, unloading for 5 runs to reclaim control, 11–7, and held on from there.
River Ducks Highlights:
Ryan Dougherty: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI
Mike Barker: 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB
Ryan Perkins: Go-ahead two-run double in the 8th. 2 runs.
Casey Schoonmaker: 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI
David Sand: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, SB, HBP
Patrick Krack: Clutch HR in the 8th inning
13 hits, 11 walks, 14 left on base
Eels Highlights:
Randy Torres: HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Jake Kight: 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB
Braxton Graham, Shane McCumbee, and Chase Patterson added RBIs in the 7th-inning surge
Pitching:
Ducks starter D. Pierce went 5 IP (5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 K).
Patrick Krack closed the door with 2 shutout innings.
Player of the Game – Patrick Krack 
Krack came up huge in the 8th inning, smashing a momentum-shifting home run to tie the game and ignite the go-ahead rally. Then he finished the game on the mound with 2 scoreless innings to lock in the win and send his team to the finals.
Big Picture:
The Ducks’ late-inning resilience sent them to the Championship Round to face the Northern Lights, while the Eels’ quest for a three-peat came to an end.
