Fisher Cats Welcome Altoona for Six-Game Set
June 3, 2025 - Eastern League (EL)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats News Release
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (21-30) return to Delta Dental Stadium to begin a six-game series with the Altoona Curve (24-27) with a 6:03 PM EDT first pitch on Tuesday night. New Hampshire is coming off a series victory, having won four of seven games against the Hartford Yard Goats at Dunkin' Park. Altoona split its six-game series with the Portland Sea Dogs last week with a pair of weekend wins. The Curve took game one 4-2 before dropping three-straight and went on to capture wins on Saturday and Sunday, 9-8 and 7-5.
LAST WEEK
After dropping the series opener, New Hampshire responded by sweeping Hartford in Wednesday's doubleheader, 7-6 and 4-0. The Cats edged the Goats on Thursday, 3-2, thanks to a stifling relief performance from righty Michael Dominguez, who staved off Hartford for the final three innings. The Fisher Cats pitching staff fanned a season-high 18 batters to take Friday night's contest, 4-3. Outfielder Yohendrick Piñango plated all four runs in the 4-3 win, including a three-run shot in the top of the third inning. After leading off Saturday's game with a double, Piñango made his Triple-A debut with Buffalo on Sunday. The Fisher Cats grabbed a 1-0 lead in game six before Hartford scored 12 unanswered and went on to win 14-5.
The Fisher Cats worked a season-high 10 walks in Sunday afternoon's series finale en route to a 9-4 win. First baseman Peyton Williams knocked his fourth homer of the year and one pitch later second baseman Cade Doughty went deep for the first time this season. It was the first time New Hampshire has gone back-to-back this season, and it put the Cats up 6-3 in the top of the fifth inning. Five New Hampshire arms pitched in and held the Goats to three earned runs on four hits with seven punchouts in the series-clinching game.
New Hampshire's Eddinson Paulino led the way offensively by recording a team-best eight hits in the series with two doubles, one triple, one homer and five driven in. Paulino enters the week having reached in eight of his last 12 plate appearances with three extra base hits.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Right-hander Ryan Watson (3-2, 4.07 ERA) gets the start in the series opener against Altoona for his ninth start of the season. Watson boasts a team-best 4.07 ERA and has held batters to a .253 average in nine total appearances. Formerly a member of the Florence Y'alls of the Frontier League, Watson signed a free agent deal with Toronto on May 31, 2024. With the Y'alls, he collected 17 strikeouts in 16-1/3 innings pitched while surrendering one walk.
Alessandro Ercolani (1-4, 5.12 ERA) is making his 10th start for the Curve this year. Ercolani went a season-high five innings against Harrisburg on May 14 and has reached the 70-pitch mark one time this season. The 21-year-old righty hails from Borgo Maggiore, San Marino, the fifth-smallest country in the world. San Marino is a landlocked country in Italy that is home to 34,000 residents and Ercolani hopes to be the first San Marino-native to make the Major Leagues. Ercolani signed a free agent deal with the Pirates as a 16-year-old in 2021 before joining the FCL Pirates by July 2021. He spent the 2023 season with the Bradenton Marauders and the 2024 season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers before being moved to Altoona on April 1, 2025. Across 70 career MiLB games, Ercolani owns a 14-14 record with a 3.77 ERA and 243 punchouts in 222 innings pitched.
THIS DAY IN FISHER CATS HISTORY
The Fisher Cats opened a series in Erie with a 10-5 win. Garrett Spain, Ryan McCarty, and Rainer Nunez all hit home runs, part of a 14-hit attack. Spain and McCarty each drove in three runs and Alex De Jesus went 3-for-4 with a double and a run driven in. Trenton Wallace allowed two runs in five innings to earn his third win.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Fisher Cats hit the road to take on the Reading Fightin' Phils at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, Penn. New Hampshire finishes the first half at Delta Dental Stadium when it takes on Somerset starting on Tuesday, June 17.
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- Fisher Cats Welcome Altoona for Six-Game Set - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
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