Fitzgerald becomes first 20-20 player in franchise history in Flying Squirrels loss

The Richmond Flying Squirrels concluded the homestand with a 7-3 loss against the Harrisburg Senators on Sunday afternoon at The Diamond.

The Flying Squirrels (59-66, 19-37) lost four of the six games against the Senators (50-75, 20-36) during the week.

After Tyler Fitzgerald led off the eighth inning with a hit, he stole second base then stole third on the next pitch. Tristan Peters brought him home with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 7-3.

With the two steals, Fitzgerald has totaled 20 stolen bases and is the first player in franchise history to collect 20 steals and 20 home runs in a season.

Harrisburg captured a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first inning when Wilson Garcia launched a solo home run to right field.

Jackson Cluff extended the Senators lead to 2-0 in the fourth with an RBI double.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Carter Aldrete grounded a base hit into left field that scored Will Wilson and Armani Smith to tie the game, 2-2.

Robert Hasell III vaulted the Senators to a 3-2 advantage with a solo home run against Richmond starter Kai-Wei Teng (Loss, 5-12). Teng finished his with nine strikeouts, bringing his season total to 153 and is 12 away from tying the single-season franchise record in punchouts set by Eric Surkamp in 2011.

The Senators jumped to a three-run lead in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk.

In the eighth inning, both Gilbert Lara and Hassell punched RBI singles to move the score to 7-2.

Harrisburg reliever Luis Reyes (Win, 6-8) allowed two runs off two hits and four walks with four strikeouts.

The Flying Squirrels are off Monday before heading on the road to face the Bowie Baysox Tuesday through Sunday. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. from Prince George’s Stadium. Right-hander Keaton Winn (1-2, 5.06) will make the start for Richmond.

The team returns to The Diamond for their final regular season homestand against the Erie SeaWolves from Sept. 13-18. Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-3866 or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.

The Flying Squirrels will host their first playoff game since 2014 on Thursday, September 22 at The Diamond. Tickets for all potential playoff games in Richmond are on sale now at SquirrelsBaseball.com.