EL1 New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Nolan Nails Second Homer in 2 Days

Published on August 2, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats News Release


MANCHESTER, NH - The New Hampshire Fisher Cats took an early lead but failed to maintain it, dropping an 8-2 decision to the Reading Fightin Phils on Sunday at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

New Hampshire (55-50) squandered a chance to gain ground in the Eastern League's Eastern Division playoff race, instead settling for a split of the series. The Fightin Phils (58-50) pounded out 13 hits against Fisher Cats pitchers, including five extra-base knocks. Kevin Nolan hit a homer for the second consecutive day, marking the first time any New Hampshire hitter had done that in 2015.

The Fisher Cats opened the scoring early on, getting to Reading starter Zach Eflin in the bottom of the first inning. Roemon Fields cracked a leadoff single up the middle, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jorge Flores. Ryan Schimpf flew to center, allowing Fields to advance to third base. With two outs, Nolan pounded a 2-0 fastball the other way for a two-run blast, his fifth homer of the season. The dinger made it 2-0 in favor of the Fisher Cats.

The Fightin Phils knotted things up against Fisher Cats starter Taylor Cole in the top of the fourth. Cameron Perkins drew a one-out walk, and Andrew Knapp slashed a two-out double to right field to put runners at second and third. Destin Hood laced a liner to center field for a single, plating both runners. However, Hood was tagged out at second base attempting to stretch the hit to a double for the third out, leaving the score tied at 2-2.

Reading broke the deadlock in the top of the seventh inning. Cole surrendered consecutive singles to Harold Martinez and Brodie Greene, putting runners on the corners. Brian Pointer dropped a sacrifice bunt that Jorge Flores booted, allowing Pointer to reach safely and Martinez to score. Cole gave way to Danny Barnes, and Reading kept hitting. Angelo Mora laid down his own sacrifice bunt that Barnes fired to third too late to get Greene, loading the bases. A pop-out by J.P. Crawford held off Reading momentarily, but Perkins rapped a single to right, scoring Greene and Pointer and giving Reading the 5-2 edge.

The Fightin Phils tacked on a couple more against Barnes in the top of the eighth. With two outs, Greene pounded a double to deep left field to put himself in scoring position. Pointer followed that up with a towering two-run homer to deep right field, running Reading's lead to 7-2. The Fightin Phils added an exclamation point in the ninth inning, touching up new reliever John Anderson for a run on a two-out double by Knapp to score Perkins.

Cole took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walks while fanning four in six innings. Barnes surrendered two runs on three hits and struck out one in two frames. Anderson gave up a run on two hits and recorded one strikeout in his lone inning of action.

New Hampshire hits the road now for a six-game trip, starting in Richmond on Tuesday night. Southpaw Scott Barnes gets the ball for New Hampshire against Richmond lefty Matt Gage. First pitch from The Diamond in Richmond is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with Ben Gellman's pregame show starting at 6:45 p.m. on the Fisher Cats Radio Network and online at www.nhfishercats.com.

The Fisher Cats return home August 11 against the Akron RubberDucks to kick off Shark Week, with special games, trivia, music and more that will swim through the stadium all week long! Fans can get their tickets by calling 603-641-2005 or by visiting the Fisher Cats website at www.nhfishercats.com.

Check out the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Statistics

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Eastern League Stories from August 2, 2015


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