Richmond Flying Squirrels shut out in series finale

The Richmond Flying Squirrels dropped the final game of a four-game series against Hartford, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon in front of 6,417 fans at The Diamond.

Brandon Beachy (Loss, 0-1) made the start for Richmond (3-1), marking his first appearance in affiliated baseball since 2016. The right-hander worked a clean first inning, but ran into trouble in the second. After walking Tyler Nevin and Vince Fernandez to start the inning, Beachy allowed a three-run homer to Brian Serven to give Hartford a 3-0 lead.

Beachy finished his outing with two strikeouts and three walks across four innings, allowing three runs on two hits. He threw 62 pitches, including 40 for strikes. Meanwhile, Hartford (1-3) left-hander Ty Culbreth (Win, 1-0) worked five scoreless innings in his Double-A debut, striking out three and walking one.

The Flying Squirrels had their best chance to score in the sixth against reliever Phillip Diehl. After Levi Michael was hit by a pitch to start the inning, Jalen Miller reached on an infield single to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Then, following back-to-back strikeouts, Jacob Heyward hit an infield single up the middle, but Michael was caught between third and home to end the inning.

Right-hander Nolan Riggs struck out four in three scoreless innings of relief in his 2019 debut, and left-hander Sam Selman followed with two scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his first outing of the year.

The Yard Goats bullpen combined for four scoreless innings to finish the game, allowing just one hit after the sixth inning. After scoreless innings from Phillip Diehl, Ryan Gonzalez and Logan Cozart, left-hander Ben Bowden (Save, 1) secured the win for Hartford.

The Richmond Flying Squirrels’ opening homestand continues Monday with the first game of a three-game series against the Bowie Baysox. Right-hander Alfred Gutierrez starts for Richmond against Baysox right-hander Tyler Herb, and first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.

The high-flying Dynamo Dogs bring their Frisbee and dog trick show to Funnville on Monday for the first of seven Bark in the Park games, when dogs are admitted free. Please request a dog-friendly seating section (Sections 101-103, 203-204 and General Admission first base side) if accompanied by a pet.

For tickets or more information, call 804-359-3866 (FUNN), visit SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets or stop by the Flying Squirrels box office.