Reading Rallies Past Richmond, 6-4
Published on July 31, 2012 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release
RICHMOND, VA - Cody Asche went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI and reliever Kyle Simon silenced Richmond's offense in the final three innings as the Reading Phillies (57-51) defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels (55-55), 6-4, in the opener of a three-game series at The Diamond Tuesday night. Richmond remains tied for third in the Western division, a game behind the Bowie Baysox in the race for the divisional wild-card.
The Flying Squirrels struck first with a pair of runs in the opening frame. Gary Brown reached on a hit by pitch from reading starter Brody Colvin and he promptly stole second base. After advancing to third base on Ehire Adrianza's fly out to right field, Brown scored on an RBI groundout from Daniel Mayora. Mark Minicozzi and Juan Perez hit consecutive singles and Johnny Monell delivered an RBI single that scored Minicozzi and extended Richmond's lead to 2-0.
Reading immediately answered with two runs in the top of the second. Darin Ruf drew a leadoff walk from Richmond starter Craig Westcott. Then, Tug Hulett singled to right field and the ball glanced off the glove of Juan Perez, resulting in a single and an error. Ruf advanced to third on the play and he scored moments later when Sebastian Valle reached on a throwing error by the third basemen Mayora. Leandro Castro followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Hulett and knotted the score at 2-2.
The R-Phils grabbed their first lead of the game an inning later. Asche hit a one-out single and Cesar Hernandez followed with a single that enabled Asche to reach third base. Ruf drove in Asche with a sacrifice fly that put Reading in front 3-2.
Richmond evened the score with a run in the bottom of the fourth. After Colvin retired the first two Squirrels batters, Ryan Cavan singled to right field. Following a wild pitch, which enabled Cavan to advance to second base, Westcott helped his own cause with an RBI single that tied the score at 3-3.
The Flying Squirrels reclaimed the lead two innings later. Cavan reached on a one-out infield single off Reading reliever Colby Shreve. He reached second base when Shreve was called for a balk. Westcott followed with his second RBI single of the night, which gave Richmond a 4-3 advantage.
However, Richmond's lead was short-lived. Westcott retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the seventh. Then, the right-hander issued a two-out walk to pinch hitter D'Arby Myers. Jiwan James followed with a single to left-center field and Myers took third base on the play. Asche drove in Myers with an RBI single and Westcott issued a walk to Hernandez before being removed from the contest. Daryl Maday came on with the bases loaded and uncorked a wild pitch with Ruf at the plate. James raced home on the play, which gave Reading a 5-4 lead. The R-Phils tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning when Troy Hanzawa laced an RBI double to left-center field that scored Valle.
Meanwhile, Reading reliever Simon baffled Richmond's batters from the moment he entered the game in the bottom of the seventh. Simon tossed three scoreless frames and did not allow a hit. As a result, Shreve (2-1) earned the win and Simon picked up his first save with Reading. Westcott (9-8) took the loss.
The Squirrels will look to end their two-game slide when the two teams meet in game two of the three-game series Wednesday night at The Diamond. First pitch is slated for 7:05 PM. Richmond is expected to send RHP Chris Heston (7-4, 2.30) to the mound. Reading will counter with RHP Austin Hyatt (5-3, 4.70). Pregame coverage will begin at 6:35 PM on Sports Radio 910 and SportsRadio910.com .
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