New Britain Completes the Sweep, Winning Streak at 11; Defeat Reading 5-3

Published on June 22, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
New Britain Rock Cats News Release


New Britain, CT - The Rock Cats put away the Reading Fightin' Phils by the score of 5-3 on Sunday afternoon, completing the series sweep and extending their winning streak to an historical eleven straight games.

Rock Cats starter RHP Tyler Duffey pitched all the way into the eighth inning, improving his record to 3-2. The righthander allowed three runs on six hits while walking just one and striking out six.

LF Aaron Hicks gave New Britain a 1-0 lead after one inning of play. Hicks, who is spending time in New Britain on Major League rehab, led off with a single out to left field, advanced to second on a balk committed by LHP Adam Loewen and then ultimately scored on a productive groundball out to first base by CF Eddie Rosario.

Reading would not stay down for long, as they tied the ballgame 1-1 in the top half of the second. The Phils started the frame with three straight singles and then it was DH Jake Fox who scored on a sacrifice fly out in foul territory to even up the score.

Pressure on the bathpaths and timely hitting helped the Rock Cats go up 5-1 in the bottom half of the fourth. After RF Reynaldo Rodriguez drew a walk to start the frame, 3B Brandon Waring cracked a double down the left field line. The throw to third to get Rodriguez was cutoff in an attempt to throw out Waring at second, but that relay sailed out into right field, allowing Rodriguez to score easily. Both SS Tony Thomas and C Kyle Knudson followed up with RBI singles and it was Hicks' sacrifice fly to deep center that scored 2B Stephen Wickens and gave New Britain the four run lead.

The Fightin' Phils cut into the deficit on a solo home run from LF Peter Lavin in the top of the fifth and a wild pitch from New Britain reliever RHP Adrian Salcedo in the eighth that scored Cartwright - making it a 5-3 game in the Rock Cats' favor.

Loewen, who pitched in the Majors with Baltimore in from 2006-2008 and then converted to an outfielder to play with the Blue Jays in 2011, struggled to find the strike zone at times, recording five walks and a wild pitch.

With the win, the Cats' now move onto the Altoona Curve, Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The three-game series starts Monday evening when RHP Virgil Vasquez gets the call for the Rock Cats and Altoona throws out LHP Zack Dodson. First Pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

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



Eastern League Stories from June 22, 2014


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