EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Ciriaco's Squeeze-Bunt Sends Erie to 11th Straight Defeat

Published on July 2, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


RICHMOND, VA - Juan Ciriaco's eighth inning squeeze-bunt gave the Squirrels the deciding run as they defeated the Erie SeaWolves, 3-2, in front of 6,128 on Friday night at The Diamond. The Squirrels have claimed the first two games of a four-game series extending Erie's losing-skid to 11 games.

Erie staged a two-out rally to take the early lead against Richmond right-hander Craig Westcott in the first inning. Westcott, making his Double-A debut, conceded a single to Andy Dirks back up the middle. He promptly stole second base and scored for a 1-0 Erie lead when Rawley Bishop singled into left field.

The SeaWolves added a run to their lead in the third when Westcott walked Carmelo Jaime to start the inning. A batter later, Bryan Pounds doubled down the left-field line and Jaime scored from first for a 2-0 advantage.

The Squirrels leveled the ledger in the bottom of the inning against Erie right-hander Thad Weber. Tyler La Torre doubled to start the inning and came in to cut the deficit to one when Ryan Lormand doubled to right field. Skyler Stromsmoe laid down a bunt-single to move Lormand to third and he tied the game when Brandon Crawford bounced into a fielder's choice.

Westcott departed after six strong innings in his Eastern League debut. He allowed two earned runs on five hits, walked two and struck out three.

With Weber still in the ballgame, the Squirrels plated the game-winning run in the eighth. Roger Kieschnick hooked a triple into the right-field corner with one out and stood at third as Conor Gillaspie drew a walk. Ciriaco then stepped in and laid down a perfect squeeze-bunt to the first-base side. Kieschnick slid across with the difference-making run as Richmond took a 3-2 lead.

Weber (4-9) was doomed to the loss despite a solid showing. He allowed three earned runs on five hits over 7 1/3 innings. He walked two and fanned six as he endured his ninth loss of the season.

Daniel Turpen (4-4) earned the win in relief for the Squirrels. He worked two perfect innings to record the victory. Rafael Cova struck out the side in order in the ninth for his 15th save of the season. The Richmond bullpen has now recorded eight consecutive hitless innings in the series.

Game three of the series is scheduled for 6:35 PM on Saturday night at The Diamond. The Squirrels have yet to name a starter to oppose RHP Brooks Brown (5-5, 4.70) for Erie.

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Eastern League Stories from July 2, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central