EL1 Reading Fightin Phils

Listi Provides Big Lift in 8-3 Win

Published on August 23, 2018 under Eastern League (EL1)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


(Reading, PA) - After coming up just short in the first game of their final homestand on Wednesday night, the Fightin Phils kept the pressure on the Thunder to wrap up their two-game series. Harold Arauz improved to 9-6 in his return from Triple-A, and Austin Listi hit a tiebreaking three-run home run in the fourth inning that gave the Fightins an eventual 8-3 win before a crowd of 6,620.

With five strikeouts over his first two innings, Arauz surrendered a home run to Bruce Caldwell with one out in the third that extended the second baseman's on-base streak to 16 games. Down 1-0, the Fightin Phils stranded a runner in the third before going ahead for good in a busy bottom of the fourth.

Cornelius Randolph was hit by a pitch on 1-2 to start the inning, and Jose Pujols worked his second walk to put the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Damek Tomscha sent a bouncing ball to third, and Reading capitalized on a throwing error into right field from Gosuke Katoh that tied the score. With two runners on, Listi unloaded a home run to left center for a 4-1 lead and his ninth longball at Double-A.

The action picked up in the top of the sixth when the Thunder scored a run on three singles to cut the deficit in half. Trailing 4-2, Rashad Crawford and Jeff Hendrix struck out against Josh Tols, who added two more in a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Arauz (9-6). In the bottom of the sixth, Listi's RBI double paved the way for back-to-back RBI singles from Malquin Canelo and Adam Haseley for a 7-2 Fightin Phils lead.

In the eighth, Cornelius Randolph's bases loaded walk pushed the lead to six, finishing off a night where he also got on with a double and a hit by pitch. After Tols, Luke Leftwich struck out two in a scoreless top of the eighth so Edgar Garcia could work the ninth. The Thunder got a run back on a Wendell Rijo double to center, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

America's Classic Ballpark is proud to be a part of Pennsylvania's Americana Region. Season tickets for the 2018 season are available online at Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, and in-person at FirstEnergy Stadium. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter at @ReadingFightins and like them on Facebook via www.facebook.com/fightins.

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Eastern League Stories from August 23, 2018


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