Minor League Champs: Carolina League
A losing record in the regular season didn’t stop the Frederick Keys. They got hot at the right time and reclaimed the Mills Cup.
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Twice the Frederick Keys called on Chorye Spoone to finish a playoff series, and twice he delivered as the Keys won their second Carolina League Mills Cup in three years.
The keys defeated the Salem Avalanche in four games, winning the clincher 5-1 behind Spoone’s second postseason complete game.
Spoone allowed 11 Avalance hits but no runs until the ninth inning, taking the series MVP.
This came just five days after he shut down the Wilmington Blue Rocks to clinch the North Division series, when he finished one out shy of a no-hitter.
The Keys gave Spooner a lead early with a Mark Fleisher home run in the second inning. They built a 5-0 lead in the ninth, then Spooner allowed one run on three hits before ending the game and the season.
The Keys postseason experience – playing in their third straight Mills Cup final – helped overcome a relatively disappointing regular season. They finished both half seasons 32-37, but were still able to win the first-half title.
They then swept the Blue Rocks in the opening round before taking on a Salem team that had beaten them 14 of 20 times that year, hitting .304 in those games.
They jumped on the Avalanche 3-2 in Game One at home. After losing Game Two 8-4, the Keys swept two straight in Salem to become the first ever Mills Cup winner with a losing regular season record.
They also won without manager Tommy Thompson, who watched the championship series in the hospital with diverticulitis.
