EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes

Published on April 15, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (4-4) VS. ALTOONA CURVE (4-4)

RHP JUSTIN FITZGERALD (1-0, 0.00) VS. RHP JARED HUGHES (0-0, 5.40)

April 15, 2011 -- 6:30 PM

Blair County Ballpark

Game #9/Road #2

Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL

Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com

TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Altoona Curve will meet in game two of a four-game series...Left-hander Aaron Thompson and three relievers combined on a three-hit shutout of the Flying Squirrels as Altoona claimed the opener 2-0 on Thursday night in front of 4,604 fans at Blair County Ballpark.

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Right-hander Justin Fitzgerald gets the start in game two fo the series for the Flying Squirrels...Earned the win in his Double-A debut 4/9 against New Britain...Tossed five scoreless innings, allowing two hits...Struck out two batters and walked two...Tagged Ray Chang out on a play at the plate when an 0-2 pitch got away from catcher Johnny Monell...Only runner to get past second base...Both hits he allowed (singles) came leading off an inning (2nd & 4th)...Retired the leadoff man in three of his five innings on the mound...Recorded five ground outs and six fly outs...Threw 81 pitches, 58 strikes...Threw 16 or more pitches in four of his five innings on the mound...Needed 20 pitches to work a perfect fifth inning...Threw first-pitch strikes to nine of the 17 batters that he faced...Went three balls in the count to six of the 17 batters that he faced... Spent the entire 2010 season with Advanced-A San Jose...First season as a starter after appearing exclusively in relief in his first two pro campaigns...Went 10-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 26 games, 25 starts...Struck out 116 batters and walked 46 in 146 innings...Ranked 4th in the California League in ERA (3.45), 3rd in opponent batting average (.258) and tied for 5th with 10 wins....Named a California League Mid-Season All-Star...Made three postseason starts with San Jose, going 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA (4R/18.2 IP)...Made 39 relief appearances with Low-A Augusta in 2009...Went 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA, striking out 63 and walking 27 in 56 innings...Made pro debut in 2008, going a combined 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 17 appearances...Selected in the 11th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft...Attended the University of California-Davis.

Right-hander Jared Hughes gets the nod in game two of the series for the Curve...Received a no-decision in his first start of the season 4/10 at Erie...Allowed three runs on six hits in four innings while striking out two batters and walking one...Made 2011 debut in relief 4/7 at Erie...Tossed a perfect inning, striking out two...Spent the entire 2010 season with Altoona and went 12-8 with a 4.42 ERA in 30 games, including 23 starts...Finished tied for second in the Eastern League in wins (12), ranked sixth in hits allowed (166) and was seventh in strikeouts (120) and innings pitched (150 2/3)...Moved to the bullpen 7/25, making seven total relief appearances going 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA as a reliever...Was 9-8 with a 4.70 ERA in his 23 starts...Left-handed batters hit .311 (102-for-328) against him while right-handed batters hit .242 (64-for-264)...Went 4-1 with a 3.12 ERA in seven games, five starts, against Richmond in 2010...Appeared in 17 games including seven starts with Altoona in 2009, bouncing back from an early season injury...Went 1-6 with a 3.88 ERA with 36 strike outs and 16 walks in 46 1/3 innings of work...Was 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA in 10 relief appearances...Was 1-4 with a 1.91 ERA in his seven starts...Counting 2011, has spent parts of the last four seasons with Altoona including making six starts in his first stint with the Curve in 2008...Selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft...Attended Cal State Long Beach.

BLANKED AT BCB: The Flying Squirrels were shutout for the second time this season in last night's 2-0 Curve win in the series opener...Richmond was limited to a season-low three hits in the game...The Flying Squirrels are one of three teams (Akron and Trenton) in the Eastern League to have been shutout multiple times through the first eight days of the season...The Flying Squirrels were shutout 10 times last season, tied for second-most in the Eastern League.

NUTS: The Flying Squirrels went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and more specifically, a runner at third base...Richmond is hitless in its last eight at-bats with runners in scoring position...The last hit with a runner in scoring position came on Mike McBryde's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning on Tuesday night against Bowie...Over the last three games, the Flying Squirrels are 2-for-15 (.133) with runners in scoring position.

IN A PINCH: Shortstop Joel Weeks collected the first pinch-hit base hit of the 2011 season for the Flying Squirrels with his single in the top of the sixth inning last night...Entering tonight's contest, Richmond pinch hitters are 1-for-4 on the season...Last season, Flying Squirrels pinch hitters batted .161 (10-for-62).

PITCHERS AT THE PLATE: Eric Surkamp became the first Flying Squirrels pitcher to have plate appearance this season after grounding out to third in the top of the third inning last night...Last season, Flying Squirrels' pitchers hit .152 (22-for-144) with three doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs...Ronnie Ray had four of the 22 hits and collected seven of the 13 RBIs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Flying Squirrels infielder Sharlon Schoop turns 24 today...The Willemstad, Curacao, native is in his seventh professional season after being signed by the San Francisco Giants as a non-drafted free agent March 30, 2004.

CURVE BALL: The Flying Squirrels and the Altoona Curve meet for the first time in 2011 in their current four-game series...The two clubs will face each other 17 times this season including 11 meetings at Blair County Ballpark in Altoona...Last season, the Curve won 16 of the 26 meetings between the two teams...Richmond went 3-8 against Altoona at BCB while going 7-8 against the Curve at The Diamond.

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

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



Eastern League Stories from April 15, 2011


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