EL1 New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Opitz Drives in Two in 4-0 Win

Published on July 30, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats News Release


MANCHESTER, N.H. - The New Hampshire Fisher Cats got big contributions from their first three hitters Thursday night, riding them to a 4-0 win over the Reading Fightin Phils at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

The Fisher Cats (54-48) scored their fourth straight win, coming on the heels of a three-game sweep of the Harrisburg Senators. Reading (56-49) had a two-game winning streak snapped with the loss, and allowed the Fisher Cats to creep within half a game of them in the Eastern Division standings. New Hampshire's first three hitters combined to go 7-11, with the rest of the order only able to muster two hits in 20 at bats.

The Fisher Cats drew first blood in an odd way in the bottom of the first against Reading starter Mark Leiter, Jr (L, 2-6). Shane Opitz smashed a one-out triple to the right-field corner, bringing up Kevin Nolan. The New Hampshire designated hitter struck out swinging on a ball in the dirt that gave Reading catcher Andrew Knapp a lot of trouble. As Nolan ran to first base, Knapp threw inaccurately, hitting Nolan in the back. The ball trickled away, and Opitz sped home from third to score and give New Hampshire the early 1-0 lead.

The Fisher Cats added some scoring in the bottom of the fifth. Leiter surrendered a one-out double to Jorge Flores and walked Roemon Fields, bringing Opitz to the plate. Opitz didn't disappoint, cracking a double to plate both runners before being tagged out himself. The two-bagger put New Hampshire into a 3-0 advantage.

New Hampshire added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth against new reliever Edubray Ramos. Back-to-back singles by Fields and Opitz put runners on first and second, and Nolan chopped a bouncer up the middle for an RBI single, scoring Opitz and nudging New Hampshire's lead to 4-0.

Austin Bibens-Dirkx (W, 4-5) got the win with six shutout frames, allowing five hits and two walks while whiffing eight. Danny Barnes pitched a perfect frame of relief with one strikeout, as did Colt Hynes. Blake McFarland allowed a hit and fanned two in a scoreless inning.

New Hampshire will look to make it five wins in a row Friday night, with righty Casey Lawrence starting against Reading southpaw Joely Rodriguez. First pitch from Northeast Delta Dental Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with Tom Gauthier and Bob Lipman starting the pregame show at 6:45 on the Fisher Cats Radio Network and online at www.nhfishercats.com.

On Saturday, the first 1,000 kids into Northeast Delta Dental Stadium will receive a FREE Fisher Cats Kids Wallet, courtesy of Bank of New Hampshire. Tickets are available by calling 603-641-2005, or visiting www.nhfishercats.com.

Check out the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Statistics

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Eastern League Stories from July 30, 2015


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