EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes

Published on May 3, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (11-13) VS. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS (12-10)

RHP JUSTIN FITZGERALD (2-0, 1.45) VS. RHP BOBBY LANIGAN (1-2, 3.98)

May 3, 2011 -- 6:35 PM

New Britain Stadium

Game #25/Road #11

Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL

Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com

TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and New Britain Rock Cats will meet in game two of a four-game series...The Flying Squirrels ended a seven-game road losing streak using a four-run fifth inning to break through a 1-1 tie to knock off the Rock Cats 6-2 in the series-opener on Monday night in front of 3,108 fans at New Britain Stadium.

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Right-hander Justin Fitzgerald gets the start in game two of the series for the Flying Squirrels...Received a no-decision in his last outing 4/28 against Trenton...Allowed one unearned run on three hits in 4 1/3 innings...Struck out two batters and walked five...Five walks issued matched a career high...Allowed the leadoff man to reach in three of his five innings on the mound, twice on errors...Leadoff man scored in the top of the third inning...Recorded six groundouts and three flyouts...Threw 94 pitches, 49 strikes...Threw 28 pitches, nine strikes in the top of the second inning...Went three balls in the count to nine of the 21 batters he faced including five of the six batters he faced in the second inning...Threw first-pitch strikes to eight of the 21 batters he faced...Flying Squirrels improved to 4-0 in his starts...Club has scored 25 runs in his four starts...Threw five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits in his Double-A debut 4/9 against New Britain...Struck out two and walked two...Spent the entire 2010 season with Advanced-A San Jose...First season as a starter after appearing exclusively in relief in his fi rst 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 Bobby Lanigan gets the nod in game two of the series for the Rock Cats...Making his fifth start of the season and second against the Flying Squirrels...Suffered the loss in his first start of the season 4/9 at Richmond, allowing one run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings while striking out three and walking one...Has allowed 10 runs, seven earned, on 15 hits in nine innings over his last two starts...Opponents batting .310 (26-for-84) against him in his first four starts this season...Split the 2010 season between Advanced-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain...Went 3-1 with 2.15 ERA in 11 games, 10 starts, with the Miracle, striking out 41 batters and walking seven in 54 1/3 innings...Opponents hit .212 (43-for-203) against him...Promoted to New Britain 7/19/10...Went 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his first four starts with the Rock Cats...Was 0-3 over his final five outings, four starts, with a 8.50 ERA as opponents hit .363 (29-for-80) against him...Split the 2009 season between Low-A Beloit and Fort Myers...Went 10-7 with a 4.52 ERA in 22 starts with the Snappers...Struck out 102 batters and walked 29 in 123 1/3 innings...Promoted to Fort Myers 8/13/09...Worked primarily in relief (5 games) while making two starts...Went 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA...Struck out 14 batters and walked four in 15 1/3 innings...Made his pro debut with Rookie Elizabethton in 2008 and went 6-5 with a 2.78 ERA in 13 starts...Struck out 65 batters and walked just nine in 74 1/3 innings...Finished sixth in the Appalachian League in ERA and third in innings pitched...Selected in the 3rd round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft...Attended Division II Adelphi University...Holds school records for most career strikeouts (241) and tied the school record for most strikeouts in a season (94) in 2007...Tied a school record with 12 wins in 2007...Posted a 1.94 ERA in 2008, ninth-best all-time.

KING OF THE K: Left-hander Eric Surkamp struck out 10 batters for the third time in five starts as he fanned 10 New Britain Rock Cats over six innings last night... The 10 strikeouts again matched a Flying Squirrels franchise record, originally set by right-hander David Mixon 7/16/10 against Bowie...It was the ninth career double-digit strikeout game for Surkamp who struck out 10-plus three times in both 2009 with Low-A Augusta and 2010 with Advanced-A San Jose...The 23-year-old leads the Eastern League with 41 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings, and he ranks third in all of MiLB in total strikeouts.

SUPPORT GROUP: The Flying Squirrels scored six runs in support of starter Eric Surkamp last night as the North Carolina State product earned his first win at the Double-A level...In his previous four starts, Richmond failed to score a single run during Surkamp's 20 1/3 innings on the mound and the club scored only five runs total in games he started.

PITCHING IN: The Flying Squirrels pitching staff leads the Eastern League with a 2.88 ERA through 24 games...The club leads the league in staff ERA even though it has issued the most walks (81) and has allowed the more hits (211) than of any team in the circuit...Richmond ranks third in the league with 202 strikeouts and the pitching staff has logged a league-high 228 innings of work, 18 1/3 more innings than the Altoona Curve who ranks second in innings pitched.

THE GEORGIA PEACH: Second baseman Charlie Culberson went 1-for-5 yesterday against New Britain and has hits in a season-long eight straight games...The 22-year-old has hits in 11 of his last 12 games and is batting .327 (17-for-52) with four doubles, a triple, a home run, nine RBIs, and seven runs scored...He has walked six times and has struck out nine times over that stretch...Culberson has appeared in all 24 games for the Flying Squirrels and leads the Eastern League with 101 at-bats.

THE DON JUAN: Outfielder Juan Perez registered his first three-hit game of the season last night as he went 3-for-4 with a double and a run...It was sixth multi-hit game of the season for the 24-year-old who raised his average from .221 to .244...The Bronx, NY, native has enjoyed the majority of his offensive success on the road this season as he is batting .324 (11-for-34) with four doubles, a triple, three RBIs, and three runs scored in 10 games away from The Diamond...In 14 games at home, Perez is batting .196 (11-for-56) with three doubles, one RBI, and five runs scored.

JUSTIN TIME: Outfielder Justin Christian has hits in five of his last six games including three multi-hit games and is batting .360 (9-for-25) over that stretch with a double, a home run, six RBIs, and five runs scored...He has also walked six times while striking out four times...The 31-year-old is fourth in the Eastern League with eight stolen bases in eight attempts.

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Eastern League Stories from May 3, 2011


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