Four Squirrels pitchers hold Ponies to one run in victory

Tyler Fitzgerald’s massive night at the plate launched the Richmond Flying Squirrels to a 5-1 win over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies Saturday night at The Diamond.

Fitzgerald went 3-for-4 with two home runs, including an inside-the-park homer in the seventh inning, and three RBIs. It was his third multi-homer game of the season.

Richmond (55-57, 15-28) pushed ahead, 1-0, in the first inning off a solo home run from Fitzgerald. It was his career-high 20th home run of the season.

Binghamton (42-70, 14-29) evened the score in the second inning when Jeremy Vasquez punched an RBI single against Ofelky Peralta. In his start, Peralta allowed two hits and one run over eight batters faced in two innings.

The Flying Squirrels reclaimed the lead with a three-run fourth inning against Binghamton starter Alex Valverde (Loss, 1-6). Carter Aldrete lifted a sacrifice fly to give Richmond a 2-1 advantage.

Jacob Heyward and Riley Mahan executed a double steal that brought Mahan to the plate. Later in the inning, Fitzgerald made it a 4-1 game with an RBI double.

On the first pitch of Fitzgerald’s at-bat in the seventh, he drove a line drive to center that rolled behind the defender. Fitzgerald motored around the bases and slid head-first at the plate for an inside-the-park home run. It was the third inside-the-park home run in franchise history, joining Brandon Crawford’s in 2010 and Tyler Graham who accomplished it in 2014.

Three Richmond relievers tossed scoreless outings in the game. Nick Avila (Win, 1-1) tied a season-high three innings pitched with three strikeouts. Clay Helvey set a season-high three innings of work and left five runners stranded. Chris Wright retired the Rumble Ponies in order with a strikeout to close out the game.

The homestand concludes Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m. The Flying Squirrels will host Disability Inclusion Day presented by Friendship Circle and Kings Dominion. Kids ages 14 and under are invited to play catch on the field before every Sunday home game presented by Nesquik and kids can run the bases following the conclusion of the game presented by Richmond Family Magazine.

Right-hander Landen Roupp will make his Double-A debut for the Flying Squirrels opposed by right-hander Garrison Bryant (2-1, 8.27) for the Rumble Ponies.

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