Home Richmond rally forces extras, but Flying Squirrels lose to Rumble Ponies in 10, 10-9
Sports

Richmond rally forces extras, but Flying Squirrels lose to Rumble Ponies in 10, 10-9

Chris Graham

richmond flying squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels fought back from a five-run deficit to tie the score in the eighth inning, but fell in 10 innings, 10-9, to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies Sunday night at Mirabito Stadium.

The Flying Squirrels (21-23), the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, lost their fourth consecutive game against the Rumble Ponies (22-22), the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, and have gone 8-16 in May.

Behind by two runs in the eighth inning, Carter Williams belted a solo home run to right field to put Richmond within one run. After the home run, Simon Whiteman tripled and Marco Luciano reached first base on an infield single to put runners at the corners.

Andy Thomas lofted a sacrifice fly to left field against Marcel Renteria (Win, 1-0), giving Whiteman the green light to score and evened the score, 7-7.

Randy Rodriguez set down the Rumble Ponies in order in a scoreless eighth inning, capping a three-inning night with three total strikeouts.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Blake Rivera (Loss, 1-2) allowed a leadoff walk but induced a flyout and fielded a comebacker to secure the second out. Rivera balked on a 2-2 count and scored Luke Ritter from third base to tie the game, 8-8.

With Williams at second base to start the tenth, Whiteman advanced him to third with a groundout. Luciano skied a sacrifice fly to move Richmond back in front, 9-8.

Joe Suozzi led off the bottom of the bottom of the tenth with an RBI triple to tie the game, 9-9. Richmond intentionally walked two consecutive batters to load the bases and brought in a fifth infielder. Rowdey Jordan worked a five-pitch walk to bring in the winning run and give the Rumble Ponies a 10-9, walk-off victory.

In the top of the ninth, Brady Whalen clobbered a solo home run 375 feet down the right field line to give the Flying Squirrels an 8-7 lead.

Richmond took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Whalen.

The Rumble Ponies snatched a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the first when Brandon McIlwain zipped a two-run double against Richmond starter Kai-Wei Teng.

With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Joe Suozzi extended the Binghamton lead to two runs with a sacrifice fly. Later in the frame, Tanner Murphy blasted a three-run homer to left-center and pushed the Rumble Ponies to a 6-1 lead.

Marco Luciano made it a 6-2 ballgame in the fourth inning with an RBI double, notching his ninth extra-base hit of the season.

After a single by Williams and a walk by Whiteman in the sixth inning, Thomas propelled a three-run homer to cut the deficit to 6-5. It was Thomas’ fourth home run of the season and his second of the road trip.

Binghamton extended its lead to 7-5 in the bottom of the sixth when Wyatt Young punched an RBI double to left field.

Richmond reliever Parker Dunshee allowed two hits but worked two scoreless innings with a season-high four strikeouts.

The Flying Squirrels are off Monday before returning to The Diamond Tuesday, May 30, to start a two-week homestand. Tuesday is Scott’s Addition Night and a Mesh Trucker Hat giveaway for the first 1,000 fans ages 21 and older presented by Bud Light.

Right-hander Ryan Murphy (1-1, 5.34) will start for Richmond opposed by Erie right-handed pitcher Wilmer Flores (2-2, 4.95).

Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.

Multimedia

 




Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

Latest News

waynesboro map
Local

Waynesboro: Mimosa Farm owner asks for delay in vote on permit application

flock License plate reader police
Local

Augusta County supervisors want to revisit the future of our Flock cameras

The MAGAs who run Augusta County, through the Board of Supervisors, are about to break with Donald Trump, who got 70-plus percent of the vote in the county in each of his three runs for president, over Flock cameras.

hospital emergency room ambulance accident
Region/State

Greene County: Waynesboro man dies in motorcycle crash on Route 33

A Waynesboro man was killed in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash on Route 33 in Greene County on Sunday morning.

acc football replay
Football

What do we know about ACC Football after two weeks? Still not all that much

uva football uva strong
UVA Football

UVA Football: ACC announces kickoff time for Sept. 26 home game

acc football
Football

ACC Football: League names Players of the Week for Week 2 games

power grid electricity
Richmond

Dominion, NextEra, feeling the heat on merger, roll out new benefits pledge