Ball Homers Twice, But Squirrels Beat Ducks, 5-4
September 9, 2023 - Eastern League (EL)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
Akron designated hitter Bryce Ball homered twice, while center fielder Petey Halpin added a solo home run, but the Richmond Flying Squirrels scored the deciding run in the eighth inning of a 5-4 win in the fifth game of a six-game series at The Diamond Saturday night. Richmond has won the first five games of the series and seven in a row overall.
Turning Point
After Ball's second home run tied the game, 4-4, in the eighth inning, Richmond responded in the bottom of the inning. Against right-hander Trey Benton, third baseman Brady Whalen hit a leadoff single and went to second base on a passed ball by catcher Michael Berglund. Catcher Andy Thomas then hit an RBI single to left-center field for a 5-4 lead.
Mound Presence
Akron right-hander Juan Zapata began his Double-A debut by allowing a leadoff home run to Richmond center fielder Ismael Munguia. Shortstop Will Wilson then singled, and Whalen hit a two-out single, before Thomas hit a two-run double to left-center field for a 3-0 Richmond lead. Zapata then worked around a hit in each of the next two innings. In the fourth, he yielded a pair of two-out hits and an unearned run. He lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing nine hits with no walks and one strikeout. Right-hander Tyler Thornton pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with three strikeouts. Benton worked the final 1 1/3 innings, yielding the decisive unearned run on two hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
Duck Tales
Halpin gave Akron its first run when he led off the third inning with a 379-foot home run to right-center field off right-hander Hayden Birdsong. In the fifth inning, Halpin walked against right-hander José Cruz, and Ball blasted a 425-foot home run to right field, cutting the deficit to 4-3. The score remained until Ball led off the eighth inning against right-hander Clay Helvey by slugging a game-tying, 396-foot home run to right-center field. It was Ball's first multi-homer game of the season and the fifth by a RubberDuck this year (Aaron Bracho, Korey Holland, Johnathan Rodríguez twice).
Notebook
Shortstop Milan Tolentino also had a two-hit game...Akron tied its season high with three home runs as a team (also April 14 at Bowie and July 22 against Richmond at Canal Park)...Richmond moved three games ahead of Bowie (34-28) for the Southwest Division second-half playoff spot with seven games remaining...Richmond leads the season series, 11-6...Game Time: 2:47 (1:00 delay)...Attendance: 9,320.
On the Pond
The RubberDucks conclude their series in Richmond at 1:35 p.m. Sunday at The Diamond. Right-hander Jack Leftwich (5-7, 5.75 ERA) is scheduled to face Flying Squirrels right-hander Ryan Murphy (2-8, 4.10 ERA). The game broadcast is on 640 WHLO, the 640 WHLO iHeartRadio channel, and akronrubberducks.com, and available on Bally Live. Tickets for RubberDucks home games are available at akronrubberducks.com/tickets.
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