'Burgers fall on Opening Night to Keys

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — In front of nearly 4,500 fans, the Spartanburgers (0-1) hosted the Frederick Keys (1-0) on Opening Night of the 2026 season. After a dominant start from both starting pitchers, Dalton Pence and Joseph Dzierwa, Frederick used timely hitting to take the first game of the year 6-0. Dzierwa (W, 1-0) headlined the show with nine strikeouts in his professional debut.

Pence (L, 0-1) started the year with three straight strikeouts in the first inning. The lefty faced the minimum through his first three innings, racking up six strikeouts his first time through the lineup. Dzierwa worked around one-out baserunners in the first and second innings. A Maxton Martin infield single in the first and Gleider Figuereo walk in the second did not lead to any offense for Hub City.

The top of Frederick’s lineup got to Pence in the fourth. After a 10-pitch walk from Nate George, Ike Irish doubled and Wehiwa Aloy drove in the first two runs of the game on a triple to the wall in right-center field. Pence escaped without any further damage and recorded the first two outs of the fifth to finish his evening. Cole Stasio took over for a scoreless inning and a third in his affiliated baseball debut.

Dzierwa’s only baserunner past the second came on a fielding error in the sixth. The second-round draft pick from last year finished his first pro game with six shutout innings. Hub City’s offensive fortunes did not change against Ben Vespi who provided two scoreless innings of relief.

The Keys tagged J’Briell Easley for two runs in the seventh. Elis Cuevas and Braylin Tavera provided the RBI base hits. After Anthony Susac escaped a bases-loaded jam he inherited from Adonis Villavicencio in the eighth, Susac hit two and walked two in the ninth. Frederick scored twice on an Irish double and a fielder’s choice off the bat of RJ Austin. Joe Glassey retired the ‘Burgers in order in the bottom of the ninth to lock up a win on Opening Night for the Keys.

The Spartanburgers and Keys return to action Saturday afternoon for game two of a three-game series to kick off the year. Hub City right-hander Ismael Agreda faces off with Keys righty JT Quinn, who makes his pro debut. First pitch is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. ET. The entire Spartanburgers team will be available for autographs after the game as a part of Super Sign-It Saturday, presented by Milliken. Tickets are available online at hubcityspartanburgers.com/tickets.

About the Hub City Spartanburgers

The Hub City Spartanburgers are the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and the reigning South Atlantic League South Division Champions. For more information on the Spartanburgers, visit milb.com/hub-city. For information about tickets to any of Hub City’s 66 home games, call 864-594-0701 or email: tickets@hcspartanburgers.com. For media inquiries, email: iunsworth@hcspartanburgers.com. Follow along with the Spartanburgers on social media.