EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels Meet In The Series Finale Vs. Altoona Curve

Published on July 12, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


TODAY: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Altoona Curve will meet in the finale of a four-game series...Six walks by the the Flying Squirrels led to three Curve runs as Altoona claimed a 5-3 win in game three of the series on Sunday night at Blair County Ballpark.

TODAY'S STARTERS: Right-hander Craig Westcott gets the start in the series finale for the Flying Squirrels...Suffered the loss in his last start at Harrisburg 7/7...Allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits in five innings of work...Struck out four batters and walked three...Recorded six ground outs and four fly outs...Threw 93 pitches, 53 strikes...Threw 20 pitches or more in three of his five innings...Threw five pitches or more to 12 of the 24 batters he faced...Went three balls in the count to 6 of the 24 batters he faced... Loss was his first as a pro...Is 13-1 with a 2.20 ERA (30ER/123.0 IP) in 29 games, 22 starts, as a pro...Team is 19-3 in his 22 career starts...Began season with Advanced-A San Jose...Went 6-0 with a 1.83 ERA in 13 starts...Struck out 53 batters and walked 32...Ranked second in the California League in ERA and was fourth in batting average against (.242)...Began the season tossing 18 consecutive scoreless innings spanning four starts (4/9-4/29)...Club was 12-1 in his 13 starts...Was named an California League Mid-Season All-Star...Was the starting pitcher and struck out the side... Selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 30th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft...Attended Belhaven College in Jackson, MS... Offensively, led the team with a .353 batting average and .618 slugging percentage and was second in home runs with 11...Also walked 43 times to establish a new single-season record...Was named the 2009 Cellular South Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi's top collegiate baseball player as voted on by Major League scouts, coaches, and media members...Selected 2009 GCAC Pitcher of the Year and was named the GCAC All-Conference Team...Also named

a NAIA Second Team All American in 2009.

Right-hander Tim Alderson gets the nod in the finale of the series for the Curve...Suffered the loss in his last start against Binghamton 7/6...Allowed a season-high eight runs on nine hits in three innings of work...Struck out three batters and walked three...Is 3-3 over his last six starts...Has allowed 17 runs on 19 hits over 8 2/3 innings (17.66 ERA) in the three losses...Has allowed five runs on 20 hits over 19 innings (2.37 ERA) in the three wins...Has allowed 105 hits in 86 2/3 innings of work this season (.307 OBA)...Is 1-1 in three starts against Richmond...Has allowed 11 runs, 10 earned, on 25 hits in 16 2/3 innings against the Flying Squirrels (5.40 ERA)...Enters 2010 rated as the #7 prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization according to Baseball America...Acquired from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for second baseman Freddie Sanchez last July...Made five starts with Advanced-A San Jose before being promoted to Double-A Connecticut last season...Went 6-1 with a 3.47 ERA in 13 starts with the Defenders prior to the trade...Was 3-1 with a 4.66 ERA in seven starts afterward...Originally selected by the Giants in the first round (#22 overall) in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

NUT AND NAIL: Twelve of the 17 meetings between Richmond and Altoona have been decided by three runs or less including five games decided by a lone run...The Flying Squirrels are just 5-12 against the Curve this season...Following tonight's meeting, the two clubs will play one another eight more times...Overall on the season, Richmond is 30-32 in games decided by three runs or less and is 14-18 in one-run games.

TORTOISE AND THE HARE: The Flying Squirrels have won seven of the last eight series openers but are just 4-14 following their series-opening wins...Overall on the season, the club is 19-8 in series openers; however, Richmond is just 11-15 in series finales...The club is 2-5 over its last seven series with both series victories coming against the Erie SeaWolves.

TAKING THE BELT-WAY: First baseman Brandon Belt went 1-for-4 last night with his fourth Double-A home run to extend his hit streak to eight games...He also struck out three times for the third time overall this season...Over the last eight contests, the 22-year-old is 13-for-32 (.406) with four home runs, five RBI, and six runs scored...He is currently averaging a home run every 8.75 at-bats with the Flying Squirrels...In 86 games combined between Advanced-A San Jose and Double-A Richmond, Belt leads all of minor league baseball in batting average (.382) and on-base percentage (.485) and is third in hits (116) and ranks fifth in slugging percentage (.641).

THE WEATHER MAN: Third baseman Conor Gillaspie went 3-for-4 with a run scored last night...It was the fifth three-hit game of the season for the 22-year-old and his 23rd multi-hit game of the season, second-most on the club...The Omaha, Neb., native is hitting .406 (13-for-32) in 11 games this month...He has walked four times and has only struck out three times so far this month...Gillaspie is hitting .308 (49-for-159) in 42 games on the road while batting just .230 (35-for-152) in 43 games at home.

STORMY SKY-LER: Super utility man Skyler Stromsmoe is just 1-for-14 (.071) over his last five games with five strikeouts and no walks...The 26-year-old is 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position over that span and is hitting just .162 (6-for-37) with runners in scoring position on the season.

ERROR OMISSION: The Flying Squirrels have gone four consecutive games without committing an error...It's the longest streak without an error for the club since going a season-long six straight games without an error 6/5-6/11...Richmond currently leads the Eastern League in fielding percentage (.983) and has committed the second-fewest errors (61).

DOUBLETREE DOWNTOWN DOUBLE PLAYS: The Richmond Flying Squirrels have turned 117 double plays in 90 games including six on 5/7 in Harrisburg...The club leads the Eastern League in double plays turned and has not gone more than two games without turning a double play.

CFS STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Flying Squirrels walked six Curve batters last night after not issuing a single walk through the first two games of the series...It was the most walks issued by Richmond pitching since 6/20 when the club also walked six Altoona batters in a 6-2 loss at The Diamond...The Flying Squirrels rank fifth in the Eastern League in fewest walks (278).

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

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Eastern League Stories from July 12, 2010


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