The Flying Squirrels (68-61, 35-25), the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, picked up their third straight win against the RubberDucks (62-67, 27-33), the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, and their eighth victory over the last 10 games.
Tied, 5-5, in the bottom of the eighth, Ismael Munguia was hit by a pitch by Akron reliever Bradley Hanner (Loss, 8-5). After a groundout pushed Munguia to second, Logan Wyatt ripped an RBI single to right field and sent the Flying Squirrels to a 6-5 lead.
Richmond reliever Ben Madison (Save, 2) allowed a leadoff walk and a single in the top of the ninth inning but held Akron scoreless on a pair of groundouts and a strikeout to seal the Richmond comeback win.
Carter Aldrete opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double to give Richmond a 1-0 advantage.
After Wyatt drew a leadoff walk to start the second inning, Brandon Martorano launched a two-run homer to left-center to push the Flying Squirrels to a 3-0 lead.
The Flying Squirrels piled a pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the third inning to boost the lead to 4-0. Will Wilson led off the inning with a solo home run and Carter Aldrete powered a solo shot to left field to drive Richmond ahead by four runs.
After Richmond starter Nick Zwack allowed back-to-back singles in the top of the fifth, the game went into a one hour and 57-minute delay. Spencer Bivens (Win, 4-4) took over and allowed an RBI double to Joe Donovan to break the shutout.
Later in the inning Connor Kokx drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to three runs and Juan Brito hit a two-RBI single, moving the score to 5-4. Korey Holland tied the game, 5-5, in the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly.
Bivens did not allow a baserunner over the reset of his outing, totaling four innings with three runs allowed and five strikeouts.
The Flying Squirrels continue the homestand against the RubberDucks Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Left-handed pitcher John Michael Bertrand (1-3, 4.68) will make the start for Richmond opposed by Akron right-hander Hunter Stanley (3-10, 4.89).
Friday is Caribbean Nations Night and the Flying Squirrels will celebrate the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean. Plus, the first 1,500 fans will go home with an Ardillas Voladoras Hawaiian Shirt presented by Performance Foodservice.
Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.
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Chris Graham
