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Rando’s 12th inning bunt beats Trenton

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Rando Moreno executed a sacrifice bunt to score Brandon Bednar from third base and give Richmond (22-33) a 5-4 win in 12 innings on Sunday afternoon at The Diamond. The Squirrels rallied for two runs in the eighth against the Trenton Thunder bullpen and were one strike away from winning in regulation when Mike Ford homered to send the game into extra innings. The Squirrels won the series 2-1, making it their third series win of the year. Richmond will be off on Monday and travel to Binghamton to begin a six game road trip starting Tuesday.

richmond flying squirrelsBrandon Bednar started the game-winning rally with a one-out base hit in the 12th. Ryan Lollis then delivered a base hit with Bednar in motion to move the winning run to third base. That allowed Moreno to drop down a bunt back to the mound and score Bednar to win the game and the series. Trenton reliever Eric Ruth (0-2) suffered the loss.

The Squirrels were one strike away from winning the finale and taking the series in the ninth inning when Mike Ford lofted a solo homer over the right field wall to tie the game, 4-4. Righty Carlos Alvarado allowed the home run, his third this season. Alvarado tossed two innings in relief and Tyler Cyr (2-0) followed with a pair of scoreless innings to earn the win.

Richmond had grabbed their first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of runs off of Trenton reliever Matt Wotherspoon. Carlos Garcia tied the game 3-3, with his second home run of the season. Garcia led off the inning and lifted a homer that barely sailed over the right field fence. Slade Heathcott doubled into the gap in right center field and Miguel Gomez granted the Squirrels the 4-3 lead with his second double of the game.

Trenton once again struck first with a run in the second inning off of Flores. Rashad Crawford drilled a one-out double and advanced to third base on a groundout. Flores was close to stranding Crawford, but with two strikes he singled back through the middle to score Crawford for a 1-0 lead.

Richmond struggled to generate much offense against Trenton’s starting pitcher Domingo Acevedo. Dylan Davis was the only base runner over the first four innings, reaching on an infield single up the third base line.

The Thunder exhausted Flores’ pitch count early to force him from the contest after just three innings. Flores – making the transition from reliever to starter – tossed 61 pitches and struck out three. He walked a pair of runners on the third inning to elevated his pitch count to a season-high. Christian Jones entered to start the fourth and walked the first batter he faced. A double play aided Jones and allowed him to faced only three hitters in the inning.

Jones worked a scoreless fourth inning, but struggled with his control in the fifth inning. Jones walked Mike Ford and Zach Zehner while Billy McKinney added a single to load the bases. Billy Fleming then delivered a sacrifice fly and Rashad Crawford followed with an RBI single to make it a 3-0 Trenton lead. Crawford’s single pushed Jones from the game and Richmond brought in RHP Yordy Cabrera with a pair of runners on. Cabrera struck out Abiatal Avelino to end the inning. Cabrera returned to pitch a scoreless sixth.

The Squirrels managed to get a run right back in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Brandon Bednar grounded a sharp single into left field. Ryan Lollis sliced a double by the dive of left fielder Jake Cave, putting Richmond on the board, 3-1.

Acevedo was dinged up for another run in the bottom of the sixth inning, allowing Richmond to move to within a run. Myles Schroder connected on just the second Richmond hit of the day and advanced to third with a pair of stolen bases. Miguel Gomez then guided a bouncing ball inside the bag at first base and down the right field line to make it a 3-2 contest. Acevedo finished off the sixth to end his outing. The righty allowed the two runs on five hits in the no-decision. He struck out seven and walked none

Left-handed reliever Jarret Martin made his Squirrels debut in the seventh and mowed down all three hitters faced. Ryan Halstead pitched the eighth and was in line for the win prior to the Ford home run.

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