Sea Dogs Win in Comeback for the Ages
June 1, 2011 - Eastern League (EL1)
Portland Sea Dogs News Release
New Britain, Connecticut- The Portland Sea Dogs gave the baseball world quite the comeback story, as they faced the New Britain Rock Cats on Wednesday night. New Britain scored nine of the game's first ten runs, taking a 9-1 lead at the end of four innings of play. However, Portland answered, scoring each and every one of the contest's final 17 runs, defeating the Rock Cats 18-9 in front of 4,487 fans at New Britain Stadium.
After a scoreless first inning, the Rock Cats exploded onto the board with eight runs in the bottom half of the second inning. Evan Bigley started the rally with a single, and moved to second on a four-pitch walk to Yangervis Solarte. Deibinson Romero broke the deadlock with a run-scoring double to left field, knocking in Bigley. Solarte found his way home on a wild pitch during a walk to Mike Hollimon. However, Solarte would have scored anyway, as Jair Fernandez followed up the walk with a three-run homer to left for a 5-0 advantage.
Chris Cates doubled and Steve Singleton was hit by a pitch, keeping the rally going, before Mark Dolenc flew out to center field for the first out of the frame. The ninth batter of the inning was Chris Parmelee, who took the first pitch he saw and deposited it over the right field wall for New Britain's second three-run blast of the night.
Portland scored once in the third, and New Britain scored once in the fourth, before the Sea Dogs began their comeback in the fifth. With one out, Alex Hassan doubled, Ryan Lavarnway singled, and Chih-Hsien Chiang doubled, putting a second run on the board. Will Middlebrooks followed with a walk, setting the table for Tim Federowicz, who singled in Lavarnway. Portland's run parade continued on an RBI groundout by Oscar Tejeda, before back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Jorge Padron and Vladimir Frias made the score 9-7 New Britain after five innings of play.
The Sea Dogs got within one on an RBI single by Will Middlebrooks in the sixth, before the team exploded for four runs in the eighth and six in the ninth, ultimately erasing an eight-run deficit, and turning it into a nine-run lead.
In the eighth inning, four straight Portland hitters reached base, as Ryan Lavarnway singled, Chih-Hsien Chiang doubled, Will Middlebrooks was hit by a pitch, and Tim Federowicz singled. After a pair of outs, Jeremy Hazelbaker smacked a double, knocking in two for a 12-9 advantage at that point.
In the ninth, the long ball did the majority of the work, as Ryan Lavarnway's two-run shot and Jorge Padron's three-run shot were responsible for five of the Sea Dogs' six runs in the frame. The other run came on an RBI double by Jeremy Hazelbaker, who put the final touch on an 18-9 victory for Portland.
Cesar Cabral (1-3) earned the win for the Sea Dogs, allowing just one hit, while striking out two, in three innings of work. Bruce Pugh (0-1) took the loss, giving up eight runs in one and one-third innings for the Rock Cats. Kyle Fernandes (1) pitched two scoreless innings for the save.
The Sea Dogs and Rock Cats will conclude their four-game series on Thursday morning at 10:35. Portland has yet to announce a starting pitcher, while New Britain will turn to Steve Hirschfeld (3-2, 2.56).
The team will then move on to Altoona for its first series against a team from the Western Division.
The Sea Dogs will celebrate Good Neighbor Night, sponsored by State Farm Insurance on Wednesday, June 8th.
For tickets, log on to www.seadogs.com or call 207-879-9500.
Eastern League Stories from June 1, 2011
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- Delayed Gratification for Baysox, Bowie Claims Game Two, 3-2 - Richmond Flying Squirrels
- Portland Comes Out On Top, 18-9 - New Britain Rock Cats
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- OF Miguel Abreu Heads up to Norfolk; LHP Mike Ballard to Bowie - Chesapeake Baysox
- Curve Squanders Leads in Loss to Thunder - Altoona Curve
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- SeaWolves Announce First Ever Dance Team Contest - Erie SeaWolves
- Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes - Richmond Flying Squirrels
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