Senators stump Squirrels: Richmond drops opener

Flying Squirrels starter Kyle Crick lasted seven innings on Thursday, but took the loss despite pitching well in a 4-2 defeat against Harrisburg at FNB field.

The Senators (53-44) snapped a 2-2 tie with a pair of runs in the seventh to take the lead, sinking the Squirrels (38-58). Crick hurled seven innings for the second time this season in the defeat. Steven Duggar excelled once again at the top of the order and collected his first four-hit game at Double-A.

The Squirrels jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Harrisburg’s Phillips Valdez. Steven Duggar extended his hitting-streak to four games as he leadoff the contest with a base hit and advanced to second via a stolen base. Christian Arroyo followed with a base hit and C.J. Hinojosa grounded into a double play to plate Duggar for a 1-0 lead. Duggar gathered four hits and is 10 -17 over the last four games.

Kyle Crick made his 16th start for Richmond in the series opener. Crick worked around a pair of scratch singles in the first, but could not do the same in the second. Harrisburg’s Spencer Kieboom was issued a one-out walk and moved to second on a base hit. Rafael Bautista then produced a run by utilizing his quickness. Bautista rolled a soft ground ball to first and managed to beat the pitcher Crick to the base for an infield base hit. Kieboom alertly did not stop running from second and came around to score on the play, tying the game 1-1.

Richmond retaliated with another run in the third, starting with Duggar’s second hit of the night. Duggar lofted a two-out bloop double down the left field line. Christian Arroyo followed with a base hit to left, scoring Duggar and giving Richmond a brief 2-1 lead.

Crick worked around some troublesome spots in the early innings but staved off significant trouble. He worked around a lead off base hit in the third inning and retired the first two hitters in the fourth. Stephen Perez then launched a solo home run over the right field wall to tie the game, 2-2. Crick rebounded nicely from the longball, retiring the next seven batters he faced to take the game into the bottom of the seventh.

Valdez also settled in as the game rolled along. He evaded trouble with runners on in the fourth and fifth and then set down the side in the sixth and seventh. Crick returned for the seventh but yielded a pair of runs in his final frame. Spencer Kieboom opened the inning with a single and Crick then struck out Stephan Perez. Harrisburg pinch-hit Shawn Pleffner for pitcher Valdez, and Plefffner gave the Senators a 3-2 lead by doubling into left center field .Rafael Bautista pushed across the finale run with a single into center, and subsequently creating a rundown to allow Pleffner to score on the play.

Crick (2-8) was hit with loss despite hurling seven innings in the outing. The righty allowed four runs on nine hits and struck out seven along the way. Crick used 107 pitches in the loss. Valdez (3-2) earned the win and also lasted seven in the effort. Harrisburg’s Andrew Robinson closed out the game to earn his second save of the season.