Sharp pitching and a walk-off single by Andy Thomas rocketed the Flying Squirrels to a 3-2 win in the series opener against the Harrisburg Senators on Tuesday night at The Diamond.
The victory marked the second walk-off win for the Flying Squirrels (29-35), the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, and their first extra-innings win of the season.
Tied, 2-2, in the top of the 11th, the Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, moved their placed runner to third with a sacrifice bunt, but Evan Gates (Win, 2-5) worked back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning without allowing a run.
Thomas torched the first pitch from Harrisburg reliever Joel Peguero (Loss, 0-2) into right-center field to score Carter Williams from second base and secure the walk-off win for Richmond. Thomas finished the night with two RBIs in a 1-for-3 performance.
The Senators (30-33) struck first with a two-run top of the sixth inning. James Wood blasted an RBI double and Frankie Tostado followed later in the inning with a run-scoring single to give Harrisburg a 2-0 advantage.
Richmond evened the score, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth inning. Facing Evan Lee with the bases loaded and two outs, Thomas walked on four pitches to drive in a run and Brandon Martorano worked a bases-loaded walk to plate the second run.
Juan Sanchez held Harrisburg scoreless over three innings, totaling three strikeouts and one hit allowed. In the bottom of the tenth, Sanchez issued a walk with one out but induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Richmond starting pitcher Mason Black worked five scoreless innings with two hits and two walks allowed while striking out six batters. Black has not allowed a run over his last three starts, totaling 13.1 scoreless innings.
Harrisburg starter Alex Troop racked up 10 strikeouts through five scoreless innings and held the Richmond offense to one hit.
The Flying Squirrels will face the Senators Wednesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Right-hander Ryan Murphy (1-2, 5.12) will start for Richmond opposed by Harrisburg right-hander Jackson Rutledge (5-1, 3.18).
On Wednesday, the Flying Squirrels will host their fifth Reading Night. Kids who successfully completed the Go Nuts for Reading program will have the opportunity to participate in a pre-game parade presented by M&T Bank. Fans can also enjoy an evening of tricks, jumps and entertainment with the Dynamo Dogs and celebrate Dogs with Jobs Night presented by River City Roll. It is also Wine and K-9s with five-dollar glasses of wine and six-dollar wine slushies from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Plus, dogs are admitted free to every Wednesday home game.
Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.
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Chris Graham
