EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes

Published on May 25, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (21-23) VS. ERIE SEAWOLVES (20-22)

RHP JUSTIN FITZGERALD (3-3, 3.67) VS. RHP LUKE PUTKONEN (0-5, 8.15)

May 25, 2011 -- 7:05 PM

The Diamond

Game #45/Home #26

Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL

Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com

TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Erie SeaWolves will meet in game three of a four-game series...After being one-hit through the first five innings on Tuesday night, the Flying Squirrels scored four runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat the SeaWolves 5-1 in front of 6,254 fans at The Diamond.

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Right-hander Justin Fitzgerald gets the start in game three of the series for the Flying Squirrels...Earned the win in his last outing 5/20 at Reading...Allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits in 6 1/3 innings...Struck out three batters and walked four...Outing was his longest of the season...Both runs allowed scored with two outs in an inning (1st & 7th)...Retired the leadoff batter in five of his seven innings on the mound...Recorded eight flyouts/popouts and six groundouts...Threw 98 pitches, 55 strikes...Threw 39 pitches in the first two innings combined...Threw 59 pitches over his final 4 1/3 innings...Threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 27 batters he faced...Win was his first since 4/15 at Altoona...Was 0-3 with a 5.33 ERA over his previous five starts...Ranks fifth in the Eastern League with 23 walks allowed...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 Luke Putkonen gets the nod in game three of the series for the SeaWolves...Making his ninth start of the season...Suffered the loss in his last outing 5/20 at Bowie...Allowed six runs, five earned, on six hits in five innings...Struck out one batter and walked three...Has lasted more than five innings just once...Has walked 17 batters and has struck out 17 batters in 35 1/3 innings...Opponents are batting .329 (49-for-149) against him...Spent the entire 2010 season with Advanced-A Lakeland...Went 9-7 with a 3.18 ERA in 27 games, 26 starts...Struck out 87 batters and walked 44 in 152 2/3 innings...Ranked third in the Florida State League in innings pitched and seventh in ERA...Entered the 2010 season rated as the #20 prospect in the Detroit Tigers farm system according to Baseball America...Made 28 starts with Low-A West Michigan in 2009...Went 7-8 with a 3.13 ERA while striking out 115 batters and walking 47 in 149 1/3 innings...Finished third in the Midwest League in ERA and fourth in innings pitched...Made six starts with Short-Season A Oneonta in 2008...Went 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA while striking out 17 batters and walking eight...Missed the majority of the season with a shoulder strain...Made pro debut with Rookie GCL Tigers going 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in three starts...Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the third round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft...Attended the University of North Carolina...Went a combined 14-2 and posted a 3.94 ERA in 30 games, 29 starts, across two seasons at UNC...Member of both UNC teams to finish as national runner-up in the College World Series (lost to Oregon State both times)...Missed the 2005 recovering from Tommy John surgery.

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN: After allowing one unearned run over seven innings last night, left-hander Eric Surkamp lowered his ERA to 1.53, the lowest in the Eastern League...He struck out five batters and moved into a first-place tie with Harrisburg's Brad Peacock for the league lead with 66...The 23-year-old is also tied for third in innings pitched (53.0) and is third among starting pitchers with a 11.21 strikout per nine-inning ratio (66 K/53 IP).

ROGER THAT!: Outfielder Roger Kieschnick went 2-for-3 with a double, a RBI, a walk and a stolen base last night and has hits in each of his last seven games, his longest hitting streak of the season...Since seeing his average dip to a season-low .173 on 5/7, Kieschnick is hitting .356 (21-for-59) and has hits in 12 of his last 14 contests including multi-hit performances in nine of those games.

MAY IS FOR MATOS: Right-hander Osiris Matos allowed one hit over two scoreless innings last night...In eight appearances this month, the 26-year-old has tossed 15 scoreless innings, limiting opponents to a .140 (7-for-50) batting average against...He has struck out seven batters while walking two over that span and has lowered his ERA from 5.02 to 2.63.

RAY PROMOTED: Right-hander Ronnie Ray has been promoted to Triple-A Fresno in the midst of a string of 16 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings spanning his last eight appearances, including working a season-long four innings on 5/19 against Bowie...Since the All-Star break last season (7/15/10), Ray is 4-1 and has allowed 12 runs, seven earned, (1.15 ERA) in 55 innings spanning his last 36 outings...He has struck out 62 batters over that stretch and has walked 12 while holding opponents to a .186 batting average against (36-for-194).

PITCHING IN: The Flying Squirrels pitching staff leads the Eastern League with a 2.82 ERA through 44 games, one of only two staffs with a sub-three ERA (Trenton 2.94)...The club ranks second in the league with 366 strikeouts, and the pitching staff has logged a league-high 411 2/3 innings of work.

HOME AND AWAY: The Flying Squirrels are in the middle of a stretch where they will play 10 of 13 games at home...Richmond is 15-10 at home and is batting .253 (221-for-875) in 25 games at The Diamond while averaging 4.16 runs per game at home (104R/25G)...Beginning May 27th, the club will start a stretch where it will play 13 of 16 games on the road...The Flying Squirrels are 6-13 on the road, and they are batting .198 (127-for-642) and averaging 3.05 runs per game (58R/19G) in 19 road contests.

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Eastern League Stories from May 25, 2011


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