Sea Dogs Top Squirrels in Opener, 4-2
Published on June 15, 2012 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release
RICHMOND, VA - Dan Butler and Peter Hissey hit consecutive RBI singles in the top of the eighth inning to lift the Portland Sea Dogs (28-38) to a 4-2 win over the Richmond Flying Squirrels (32-35) in the opener of a three-game series at The Diamond Friday night. The loss snapped Richmond's season-high four-game winning streak.
Portland seized the early lead with a run in the opening frame. Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a leadoff single off Flying Squirrels starter Justin Fitzgerald. Hazelbaker stole second base and then advanced to third on a groundout by Ryan Dent. Juan Carlos Linares followed with an RBI single that plated Hazelbaker and gave the Sea Dogs a 1-0 edge.
The Flying Squirrels evened the score at 1-1 two innings later. Ryan Cavan hit a one-out single off Sea Dogs starter Drake Britton. Two batters later, Nick Liles punched Britton's offering through the right side on a hit and run play and Cavan advanced to third base. Daniel Mayora followed with an RBI single, which tied the ballgame.
Richmond took its first lead of the contest in the bottom of the fourth. Ehire Adrianza singled with two outs in the frame and he stole second base moments later. Mark Minicozzi ripped an RBI double into the right-center field gap and Adrianza scored easily from second to put the Flying Squirrels in front 2-1.
The Sea Dogs immediately answered with a run in the fifth. Bryan Johns hit a one-out single off Fitzgerald and he advanced to second on Hazelbaker's fly out to right field. Ryan Dent delivered a bloop single that glanced off Adrianza's glove in shallow center field and plated Johns, which tied the game at 2-2.
After both starters left the game with the score still dead-locked at 2-2, the contest developed into a battle of the bullpens. Richmond nearly reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the seventh. After Portland reliever Chorye Spoone retired the first batter he faced, the right-hander issued three consecutive walks as Gary Brown, Liles and Mayora all reached on free passes. But Spoone recovered and struck out Tommy Joseph and got a fly out from Russ Mitchell to escape the inning unscathed.
Portland finally broke the stalemate with a pair of runs in the eighth. With one out in the inning, Linares reached on an infield single and advanced to second base when Richmond reliever Chris Gloor committed a throwing error on the play. Gloor coaxed a fly out from Reynaldo Rodriguez, but Bryce Brentz followed with an infield single that put runners at the corners. Dan Butler provided an RBI single that scored Linares and Peter Hissey followed with an RBI single that plated Brentz and extended Portland's lead to 4-2. The runs snapped Gloor's streak of 19.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, a season-high for the Flying Squirrels pitching staff.
Spoone's control issues vanished in the bottom of the eighth as the veteran reliever retired the Squirrels in order. Josh Fields worked a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win for Portland. With the win, Spoone improved to 1-1 on the season. Gloor (1-1) took the loss for Richmond and Fields earned his fourth save of the season.
The Squirrels will attempt to get back on the winning track win when the two teams meet again in game two of the three-game series at The Diamond Saturday night. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM. Tune to Sports Radio 910 for all the live action, beginning with the Flying Squirrels Pre-Game Warm-Up presented by your local Ford dealers at 6:05 PM. Tickets are available and can be purchased at SquirrelsBaseball.com.
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