Dubuque designated hitter Aaron Sauegling singled off of reliever Ryan Kelly with one out in the top of the ninth and ultimately scored on a wild pitch for the game's deciding run. The loss was the Ramblers' fourth in their last five games and their third straight against the Blues.
Key West (30-9) got on top early with a pair of runs off Doug Eisenman in the first inning, highlighted by an RBI single delivered by Chris Briggs. The Ramblers were able to take advantage of two Dubuque errors in the frame.
That lead held up for Rambler starting pitcher Spencer Kuehn until the fourth inning when Dubuque capitalized on back-to-back one-out walks and an error to push across two unearned runs to knot the score at 2-2.
Kuehn gave way to Kelly at the end of six innings with the score still tied. Kuehn struck out seven and surrendered only two hits and no earned runs, but did struggle at times with control (five walks).
More wildness proved problematic in the seventh when Dubuque scored twice to take a 4-2 lead. Kelly issued back-to-back walks with one out and later relinquished an RBI double to Kevin Carkeek. Kelly's own error allowed another unearned Blues run.
Carty's late-inning heroics gave the Ramblers a shot at ending their struggles against Dubuque. But Kelly could not hold the Blues scoreless in the ninth and Key West failed to cross the plate in the bottom of the ninth despite a one-out double from Chad Crabill. Crabill ended the game stranded at third base.
The Ramblers get back to tournament action on Saturday when they play Farley at 6 p.m. as part of the Dyersville Tournament.
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