Shane Matheny goes deep twice; Richmond wins opener with Harrisburg, 5-4

Shane Matheny blasted two home runs and Tyler Myrick ended a late rally as the Richmond Flying Squirrels posted a 5-4 win against the Harrisburg Senators on Tuesday night at The Diamond.

The Senators (52-56, 21-19), the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth inning, but Myrick stranded the potential tying run at third base to secure the Richmond win.

With two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the first, Matheny cranked a three-run homer to center field and jumped the Flying Squirrels (55-54, 22-18), the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, ahead, 3-0.

Logan Wyatt pushed the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second with an RBI double against Harrisburg starter Michael Cuevas (Loss, 2-5).

Harrisburg answered in the top of the fourth when James Wood launched a solo home run to move the score to 4-1. It was the only hit and run Spencer Bivens (Win, 2-3) allowed in his start, covering a season-high five innings with five strikeouts.

Matheny hammered a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning and extended the Richmond advantage to 5-1. It was Matheny’s fourth career multi-homer game and he finished the night with four RBIs on three extra-base hits.

Richmond reliever Sam Delaplane covered two scoreless innings and Jose Cruz notched a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless eighth inning.

Myrick allowed three consecutive hits to start the ninth inning. Frankie Tostado laced a ball to first and a Richmond fielding error scored all three runs to cut the deficit to 5-4. Myrick posted a groundout and a strikeout to close out the Richmond victory.

The Flying Squirrels continue the series against the Senators on Wednesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Left-hander John Michael Bertrand (1-1, 3.52) will make the start for Richmond opposed by Harrisburg left-hander DJ Herz (0-1, 5.14).

On Wednesday, the Flying Squirrels will honor teachers, administrators, and support staff from area schools by offering a free General Admission ticket to school employees with a valid school ID for Back to Teaching Night presented by Patient First. Plus, fans can enjoy $5 glasses of wine and $6 wine slushies from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and dogs are admitted free in Funnville every Wednesday home game.

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