Adam Duvall’s two-run blast in the seventh inning propelled the Richmond Flying Squirrels (2-1) to a, 7-5, win over the New Britain Rock Cats (1-2) in front of 5,713 at The Diamond on Saturday night. His first Double-A home run was a massive one to left field off of Rock Cats reliever Nelvin Fuentes, and gave Richmond the edge in the four-game series.
Richmond lefty Chris Gloor mowed down the Rock Cats in order in each of the first two innings, including five strikeouts. In the bottom of the second, the Squirrels struck first against New Britain southpaw Pat Dean. Dean issued back-to-back walks to Mark Minicozzi and Duvall. Brett Krill then forced Duvall at second to put runners at the corners with one out. Mark Wagner, in his first plate appearance as a Squirrel, followed and knocked in Minicozzi with an RBI fielder’s choice. Javier Herrera then dug in and launched a titanic two-run home run to left field. His second shot in as many days stretched the Richmond lead to 3-0.
The Rock Cats got to Gloor in the third to pull within a run. Danny Ortiz led off with a single and Harold Garcia followed with a two-run shot to left field. Gloor had more trouble in the fourth inning, as New Britain pushed across two runs to overtake the Squirrels. A pair of walks from Gloor created the opportunity for the Rock Cats. Ortiz capitalized with a two-run double up the right-field line that put New Britain ahead, 4-3.
The Squirrels’ response came quickly against Dean in the bottom of the fourth inning. Wagner opened the inning with a double through the alley in left-center field. A batter later, Ryan Lollis chopped a double over a drawn-in infield to score Wagner and tie the ballgame, 4-4. With two outs in the inning, Joe Panik sent a hot-shot groundball to New Britain shortstop Danny Santana. Santana made a clean pick, but bounced the throw to first base. Reynaldo Rodriguez couldn’t handle it cleanly, and as the ball skipped past him, Lollis motored in to return the lead to Richmond, 5-4.
Both starters retired for the night after four innings. Gloor was charged with four runs – all earned. He conceded three hits, walked two and struck out seven. He did not register a decision in his 2013 season debut. Dean was tagged with five runs – four earned. He was touched up for seven hits, walked two and struck out two. Dean also didn’t factor in the decision.
New Britain tied the ballgame at five apiece in the sixth inning when Ortiz knocked in his third run of the ballgame with a double off of righty Omar Javier. Despite the blemish, Javier (1-0) earned his first win over three solid innings. Fuentes (0-1) was saddled with the loss for New Britain.
The finale of the four-game series is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. on Sunday afternoon at The Diamond. RHP Justin Fitzgerald (0-0, —) makes the start for the Squirrels against RHP Alex Meyer (0-0, —) for the Rock Cats. Pregame coverage begins on SportsRadio 910 and SportsRadio910.com at 1:35 p.m.
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