A five-run sixth inning and a pair of homers from the Richmond Flying Squirrels helped them secure a 7-3 win over the Altoona Curve Sunday afternoon at The Diamond.
The Flying Squirrels (17-13) closed the series with a win and won two of the six games this week against the Curve (18-11).
With the game tied, 1-1, heading into the bottom of the sixth, David Villar zipped a ball to third but a throwing error from Altoona’s Rodolfo Castro scored two and put the Flying Squirrels ahead, 3-1. Bryan Torres reached on a base hit and a second throwing error from Altoona crossed home Villar for a 4-1 Richmond lead.
Vince Fernandez capped the five-run sixth with a two-run home run to left field, extending the Flying Squirrels advantage to 6-1.
The Flying Squirrels were the first to score in the second inning when Fernandez hit an RBI single to score Villar and put Richmond ahead, 1-0.
Altoona tied the ballgame, 1-1, in the sixth inning off a sacrifice fly from Rodolfo Castro that scored Ji-Hwan Bae from third.
With the bases loaded and no outs for the Curve, Norwith Gudino (Save, 4) entered in the seventh, allowing a two-RBI double to Rodolfo Castro that cut the deficit to 6-3. Gudino responded with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
In the eighth inning, Ronnie Freeman propelled his first home run of the season to left-center, pushing the Flying Squirrels lead to 7-3.
Gerson Garabito (Win, 1-2) earned his first win of the season off a 6.0-inning performance, allowing five hits, one run and one walk with six strikeouts.
Altoona starter Jeff Passantino (Loss, 0-2) pitched 5.1 innings, allowing four hits, two runs (one earned) and one walk with five strikeouts.
The Flying Squirrels are off Monday before a six-game home series June 8-13 against the Harrisburg Senators, Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Right-hander Trenton Toplikar (0-1, 4.70) is scheduled to start for Richmond opposed by right-handed pitcher Mario Sanchez (1-3, 4.26) for Harrisburg.
Tuesday is CrossFit Night at the Diamond with the first 1,000 fans 15 and older can receive a Flying Squirrels strength and performance shirt, presented by Seredni Tire, featuring workouts before and during the game courtesy of CrossFit Pushin Weight. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. with gates opening at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-3866 or in person at the Flying Squirrels offices.
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Chris Graham
