Scoreless start by Brickhouse, homer by Emery give Squirrels Sunday victory

A six-run fourth inning backed a strong start by Bryan Brickhouse as the Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Harrisburg Senators, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon at FNB Field.

Richmond (37-26) maintained its one-game lead in the Eastern League Southwest Division standings, finishing the series with four wins over six games at Harrisburg (28-35).

The Flying Squirrels opened the scoring with an RBI single by Armani Smith in the top of the fourth. Ricardo Genovés stretched the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single. After a sacrifice fly by Jacob Heyward, Robert Emery punctuated the six-run frame with a three-run homer, his fourth of the year, to push the lead to 6-0.

Brickhouse (Win, 5-4) pitched five scoreless innings, working around four hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Senators brought in two runs with a bases-loaded hit batter and a walk to close the score to 6-2.

The Senators closed within three runs on an RBI double by Wilson Garcia in the ninth, but Chris Wright stranded him on base with to end the ballgame.

Richmond pitching held Harrisburg to 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 baserunners.

With the win, the Flying Squirrels maintained a one-game lead in the Eastern League Southwest Division standings with six games remaining before the first half closes next Sunday. The first-half champion will clinch a spot in the 2022 Eastern League Postseason.

The Flying Squirrels return home to open a six-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, from Tuesday through Sunday.

First pitch on Tuesday night is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. LHP Kyle Harrison (1-1, 5.12) will be on the mound for the Flying Squirrels.

Tuesday at The Diamond is “Salute to Hoops Day” featuring a basketball “jersey” tank top giveaway first the first 1,000 fans 18 and older presented by the Virginia Lottery. The ballpark gates open at 5:30 p.m. A preview of the upcoming week’s promotions at The Diamond can be found here.

Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-3866 or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.