EL1 Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Walks Lead to Walk-Off Loss, 3-2

April 20, 2016 - Eastern League (EL1)
Binghamton Rumble Ponies News Release


AKRON, OH - Akeel Morris forced in the game-tying run with back-to-back two-out walks in the ninth before Akron's Nellie Rodriguez delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly in the tenth, pushing the RubberDucks to a 3-2 win over the Binghamton Mets on Wednesday night at Canal Park.

After a frantic back-and-forth volley in the sixth and the seventh, the B-Mets carried a one-run advantage into the ninth. Morris surrendered back-to-back singles before issuing free passes to Akron's eight and nine hitters.

In the tenth, Joe Sever scorched a leadoff double into the right-field corner off Mike Hepple. He took third on a wild pitch and came home on Rodriguez's fly to left field.

The game had started as a pitchers' duel. With an up-tempo pace, Robert Gsellman breezed through his first five innings. After surrendering a single in the first, the righty retired 16 straight RubberDucks. Gsellman needed just 41 pitches to get from the second through the fifth. Michael Brantley ended Gsellman's cruise and put Akron on the board with a two-out RBI double in the sixth.

After six fruitless innings against Akron starter Michael Peoples, Binghamton finally compiled a rally in the seventh. The B-Mets put the first two aboard and forced Akron to dip into the bullpen. After Louis Head walked Victor Cruzado to load the bases, Stefan Sabol tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left.

With two outs, Colton Plaia waved at 2-2 pitch in the dirt, but scampered to first safely when the ball skipped away from Monsalve. With the inning extended, Maikis De La Cruz dribbled a bouncer up the middle. Eric Stamets grabbed the roller as he moved to his left, but flipped late to second, allowing Dominic Smith to score the go-ahead run.

Beck Wheeler inherited the bases loaded from Gsellman in the seventh and stranded all three runners to preserve the one-run lead. The righty returned with a blank eighth before handing off to Morris who suffered his first blown save of the season.

Antonio Romero (2-0) tossed two scoreless innings to earn the win out of Akron's bullpen. Hepple (1-1) surrendered the winning run in the tenth.

Gsellman matched a Double-A career-high with seven strikeouts and allowed one run on three hits over 6-1/3 innings in the no-decision.

The B-Mets (5-6) return to the Southern Tier to start a three-game series against the Erie SeaWolves on Monday night at 6:35 PM. LHP Andrew Barbosa makes his B-Mets debut against RHP Brennan Smith. The Horizons Federal Credit Union Pregame Show can be heard starting at 6:20 PM on Newsradio 1290 WNBF and the Binghamton Mets channel on TuneIn.

POSTGAME NOTES: It was Binghamton's first walk-off loss since May 13, 2015 @ Richmond...the B-Mets went 3-4 on their first road trip of the season...Binghamton was held to a total of five runs and 10 hits in the three-game series

Season tickets and mini packs are on sale now and may be purchased in person at NYSEG Stadium or by visiting www.bmets.com or calling (607) 723-METS.

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Eastern League Stories from April 20, 2016


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