Sports stats

EL1 Reading Fightin Phils

Squirrels Fly Past R-Phils 5-2 Thursday

June 30, 2011 - Eastern League (EL1)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


(Reading, PA) -- On Wednesday, Richmond starter Eric Surkamp was named to the Eastern League All-Star Game. On Thursday, he pitched like one.

Surkamp tossed six solid innings, Wes Hodges and Charlie Culberson had two hits each, and the Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Reading Phillies 5-2 in the opening game of their four-game series from FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, PA on Thursday night.

A native of Cincinnati, OH, Surkamp (6-3, 1.72) allowed two runs (one earned) en-route to his third-straight win of the season. The 23-year-old lowered his Eastern League-leading ERA from 1.74 to 1.72, and allowed six hits and one walk on the evening.

RHP Joe Esposito (0-1, 3.60) got the start for Reading and allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits over five innings, and was saddled with the loss. Esposito, a native of New York, was making just his second-career Double-A start, and allowed four of his five runs in the top of the third inning .

Pitcher-turned-hitter Joe Savery was back on the mound in Baseballtown for the first time since July 28, 2009, and was sharp. Savery tossed two hitless innings and fanned three batters. It was the second time this week he tossed two shutout innings.

Reading pitcher Josh Zeid was activated off the disabled list before the game and came on to pitch the ninth inning. Zeid, a native of New Haven, CT, pitched for the first time since June 6. He was placed on the disabled list the next day (June 7) with right biceps tendinitis. Zeid allowed one hit and fanned the side in the ninth on Thursday.

The R-Phils belted out 10 hits, one more than Richmond, but fell short in their attempt for a fourth-straight victory. Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch led the way with two hits on the evening. Gosewisch finished the game 2-4 with a run scored. Carlos Rivero had the lone RBI for Reading.

Reading and Richmond will do battle on Friday in game two of their four-game series. RHP B.J. Rosenberg (1-1, 2.08) gets the nod for Reading, while LHP Clayton Tanner (3-7, 4.42) takes the mound for Richmond.

Coverage begins on Friday with the "Philling You In Phridays" program at 6:05 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1240 AM WIOV. Tommy Viola hosts the show, which features interviews, R-Phils news, and more. Immediately following the show is the R-Phils pre-game show at 6:35 p.m. with Brian Seltzer, who will have the call for all of the action on the R-Phils Radio Network. Also, Friday's game can be seen live on Service Electric TV-2 Sports. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Phillers... Reading is now 2-5 against Richmond this season... Esposito's first Double-A start was a good one... His first came on Saturday, June 25 in Akron... He walked three and struck-out three... As a hitter, Savery is batting .200 through Jordan Ellis tossed a scoreless sixth inning for Reading... Before the game, Michael Spidale, Matt Rizzotti, and Austin Hyatt were honored on-field for being named Eastern League All-Stars this season... Spidale stole his team-leading 13th base of the season... The R-Phils will once again have post-game fireworks, this time courtesy of Carpenter Technology Corp. on Friday.

Check out the Reading Fightin Phils Statistics



Eastern League Stories from June 30, 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.

Other Recent Reading Fightin Phils Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central