Binghamton completes sweep of Squirrels

The Flying Squirrels (27-48) were swept away by the B-Mets on Sunday afternoon in a 7-2 defeat at NYSEG Stadium.

Richmond could not recover from an early 6-0 deficit as the B-Mets (31-42) pushed Squirrels starting pitcher Andrew Suarez from the game after just two plus innings of work. Richmond dropped the final five games of the road trip after winning the first contest on Tuesday.

Binghamton ambushed the Squirrels with three runs in the first inning and three more in the second to force starting pitcher Andrew Suarez from the game early. Derrik Gibson reached base on an error to open the first inning and moved to third base on a single by L.J. Mazzilli. Dominic Smith then put the B-Mets on the board with a base hit to center for a 1-0 lead. Jayce Boyd continued the frame as he managed to beat out a double play, setting up a two-run base hit by Colton Plaia. Plaia singled to right field to score Mazzilli and an errant throw from right attempting to get the runner at third bounced into the stands, allowing Boyd to score for a 3-0 lead. All three runs were unearned, but Suarez needed 28 pitches to get the first three outs of the game.

The Mets added three more runs on three hits in the second to build a 6-0 advantage. Maikis De La Cruz began the inning by working a walk and advanced to second on a base hit by Gibson. Mazzilli then delivered a two-run triple into the right field corner for a 5-0 lead. Amed Rosario brought in Mazzilli with a base hit to make it 6-0. Suarez finished off the second inning but allowed a pair of hits to start the third and was removed from the game.

Suarez (2-5) suffered the loss by allowing seven runs (four earned) on eight hits. He used 65 pitches and struck out two in the defeat. The Squirrels bullpen was called upon for heavy lifting from there on out – for the second time in the three game series. Preston Claiborne allowed an inherited runner to score on a double play to close the book on Suarez in the third. Claiborne went on to hurl three scoreless innings to help save the rest of the bullpen. Matt Reynolds made his Richmond debut with a scoreless sixth inning and Tyler Rogers and Ray Black also turned in scoreless outings.

The B-Mets used eight stellar innings by starting pitcher Tyler Pill. Pill (4-8) allowed just two runs on five hits to finish the sweep of the Squirrels. Richmond put up a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Ryder Jones and another run in the eighth on a pinch-hit single by Steve Lerud.