The Flying Squirrels (10-26) woes continued on Sunday afternoon as Altoona (20-17) completed a four game sweep with a 6-4 win. The loss was the 10th consecutive defeat for the Squirrels and 10th straight against Altoona. UVA productBrandon Waddell earned the win for Altoona as he outdueled his former college nemesis Tyler Beede. Beede hurled six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits in the loss. Richmond has Monday off and will begin a three game series in Trenton, NJ on Tuesday against the Thunder.
Altoona scored in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead for the third consecutive game. Austin Meadows opened thecontest with a double to left field off starting pitcher Tyler Beede. The Curve brought home Meadows with a pair of groundouts to second base to take the 1-0 edge.
Beede struggled a bit with his command to start the second. Eric Wood walked on four straight pitches to begin the inning until Beede rebounded and retired the next two hitters. Chris Diaz then managed to flip a fastball into left center field and pitcher Brandon Waddell squibbed a slow groundball past third base for a 2-0 lead. It was the first professional at bat for Waddell.
On the mound, Waddell was sharp in his return to the Commonwealth. The UVA product worked around a base hit in the first and another in the second. The lefty retired seven consecutive batters into the fifth inning until Ryder Jones ripped a base hit to centerfield. Ali Castillo was then hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with nobody out, but Waddell was able to elude trouble with a groundball double play and strikeout.
The Squirrels finally got to Waddell with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Rando Moreno opened the inning with a double and promptly stole second base. Myles Schroder backed that with an RBI double to put Richmond on the board. Austin Slater pulled the Squirrels to within one run, 3-2, with a single to right field. Waddell was removed in favor of RHP Jhondaniel Medina after Waddell struck out the next batter Ricky Oropesa. Waddell left the game with the lead but also with the tying run onbase. Medina walked the first batter he faced but slipped by trouble with agroundball double play to end the inning. Waddell finished with 5 1/3 innings pitched, two runs on six hits and no walks. He tossed 89 pitches in the victory.
Altoona added another run in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. Erich Weiss connected on a slicing line drive double to left field and advanced to third base via a wild pitch. Jose Osuna then picked up his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Beede was through for the Squirrels after the sixth. The righty allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks in the defeat. Left -hander Mike Kickham relieved Beede to start the seventh and worked around a walk and error in the inning. Things took a turn for the worse in the eighth as Kickham returned for his second inning of work. He yielded three consecutive singles began the inning, including an RBI double from Chris Diaz. Austin Medows stretched the lead to 5-2 with a sacrifice fly and Jose Osuna tacked on the final run with a base hit.
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Chris Graham
