EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Squirrels Get Six In The Sixth To Sink Thunder, 9-5

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


RICHMOND, VA - A six-run sixth inning propelled the Richmond Flying Squirrels (8-9) past the Trenton Thunder (7-10), 9-5, in front of 4,692 at The Diamond on Monday night. It marked the first victory of the year over the Thunder for the Squirrels, who were swept by Trenton at Waterfront Park last week.

The Thunder grabbed the lead in the top of the second inning, as Squirrels' starter Thomas Vessella worked his way into trouble with a pair of one-out walks. Melky Mesa received the first free pass and scored two batters later on an RBI single from Ray Kruml.

The Squirrels responded against heralded Thunder left-hander Manny Banuelos in the bottom of the third. Justin Christian led off the inning and was nicked by a Banuelos fastball. A batter later, Charlie Culberson clubbed a breaking ball over the head of Trenton right fielder Ray Kruml. The triple brought Christian around from first to tie the game, 1-1. Joe Koshansky followed and gave the Squirrels the lead, 2-1, with a double roped into the right-center field alley.

The lead was short-lived, as the Thunder snatched it back with two runs in the top of the fourth. Vessella walked the lead-off batter, Cody Johnson, to again work his way into trouble. Vessella recovered to strike out Mesa, but Corban Joseph followed with a single and Vessella was lifted in favor of Ronnie Ray. Ray conceded back-to-back run-scoring singles to Addison Maruszak and Kruml, as Trenton took the lead back, 3-2.

Vessella was charged with three runs over 3 1/3 innings. He conceded just three hits, but walked three and threw 86 total pitches. He did not factor in the decision.

Trenton stretched their lead with a two-out rally against Ray in the fifth. Mesa sparked the uprising with a single, the first of four consecutive hits. Joseph followed with a double to right-center field, scoring Mesa from first. Maruszac then singled, and Kruml capped the rally with his third RBI single of the night, punching a soft-liner into right-center field.

Banuelos departed after 4 2/3 innings of work. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked two and struck out five in the longest outing of his season. Right-hander Cory Arbiso (1-1) entered and recorded the final out of the fifth without incident.

Richmond got after Arbiso in the bottom of the sixth inning. Roger Kieschnick led off the inning with a sharp-single into right field. Juan Perez followed with a single to put two aboard with nobody down. Johnny Monell then lifted a double off the very top of the wall in right field, bringing the Squirrels within a lone run as both runners scored. Mike McBryde bunted Monell to third, but Christian struck out. The Thunder elected to intentionally walk Nick Noonan, and Culberson made them pay with a hit-and-run single through the right-side of the infield that scored Monell to tie the game, 5-5. Naoya Okamoto came on in relief and hit Joe Koshansky to load the bases. He then walked Jose Flores to force in the go-ahead run. As the lineup circled back around, Kieschnick delivered again with a two-run double to left-center field that put Richmond on top, 8-5.

The six-run output in the sixth inning was the most lucrative offensive inning of the season for Richmond, with five of the six runs charged to Arbiso. He was tagged with his first loss of the season, allowing four hits over one inning of relief.

Left-hander David Quinowski (1-0) was brilliant in relief for the Squirrels, working a perfect 4 1/3 innings to earn his first win of the season. He retired all 13 batters he faced, struck out three, and induced a fly ball to left field from Bradley Suttle to end the game.

Monell provided the exclamation point for Richmond, capping the scoring with a solo-home run to right field off of Okamoto in the seventh inning. It was the first home run of the year for Monell. He finished the night with a pair of extra-base hits and three RBIs.

Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for 6:35 PM on Tuesday night at The Diamond. RHP Daryl Maday (0-1, 3.31) will make the start for the Flying Squirrels against LHP Shaeffer Hall (1-1, 3.12) for the Thunder. For tickets or more information, visit www.squirrelsbaseball.com.

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

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Eastern League Stories from April 25, 2011


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