Grant Lavigne Delivers Three-Run Shot in Yard Goats' 8-3 Victory
August 16, 2023 - Eastern League (EL)
Hartford Yard Goats News Release
Hartford, CT- Grant Lavigne hit a monstrous three-run home run completely out of the ballpark in route to a 8-3 Yard Goats victory against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Wednesday night at Dunkin' Park in downtown Hartford. The Yard Goats have now won seven of their last nine games. The bullpen was stifling in the late innings, as Austin Kitchen, Nick Kuzia, and Dylan Spain combined for 4.1 innings while allowing just six hits and no runs.
The scoring began early for the Yard Goats, as they took a daunting lead in the first inning with a four-run explosion. Sterlin Thompson led off the inning by drawing a walk before New Hampshire starter Luis Quinones got the next two Hartford batters to strike out. Then, Kyle Datres worked a walk in front of Grant Lavigne, who launched a towering drive completely out of Dunkin' Park and onto Trumbull street for a three-run homer. Next to the dish was Julio Carreras, who singled to right field and went on to grab a run with his legs by stealing second, advancing to third on a throwing error, and then scoring on a wild pitch to the backstop. After one inning, the Yard Goats held onto a 4-0 lead.
New Hampshire got a run back in the third inning. Will Robertson got the first hit and run of the game for the Fisher Cats on a lead off solo home run to left field. However, Yard Goats starter Connor Van Scoyoc settled down after the solo shot, as he retired the next three batters and finished the third inning having only allowed just one baserunner.
The Yard Goats punched back in the bottom half of the third frame. Lavigne stroked a one-out single up the middle, Carreras followed that up with a single of his own. The next batter, Warming Bernabel, lined a double into the left field corner to drive in Lavigne and put runners on second and third base for Drew Romo, who sent a deep fly ball into center field for a sacrifice fly. Heading into the fourth inning, the Yard Goats had a 6-1 advantage.
The Fisher Cats continued to rally, putting up two more runs in the fifth inning. A single from Rainer Nunez, followed by a double from Robertson, put two runners in scoring position with only one-out in the inning. Andres Sosa stepped up to the plate next, and he delivered with an RBI single to plate Nunez and put runners on the corner for Steward Borrea, who reached on a fielder's choice after he bounced a ball to Lavigne and Lavigne fired home to gun down Robertson at the plate. However, back-to-back hit batsmen allowed Sosa to score, and after five innings, Hartford's lead was trimmed to 6-3.
For the second time of the night, the Yard Goats immediately responded in the bottom half of the frame. The first three batters of the inning reached base safely, as Bernabel and Romo singled to lead off the inning before Decolati worked a walk. Two batters later, Jordan Beck drove home two runs with a single up the middle, and after five innings, Hartford held onto a commanding 8-3 lead.
The Yard Goats and New Hampshire Fisher Cats will play the third and fourth game of a seven-game series on Thursday night at Dunkin' Park, with Game 1 starting at 5:00 PM. Tanner Gordon toes the rubber for the Yard Goats in Game 1, while Ricky Tiedemann takes the ball for New Hampshire. Thursday's games will be broadcast on AM 1410, FM 100.9 and on the iheart radio app.
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