Squirrels blank B-Mets to even series

Richmond lefty Adalberto Mejia earned his first win of the season on Tuesday night as the Squirrels (13-31) blanked Binghamton 3-0 (18-25) at NYSEG Stadium.

Mejia twirled seven shutout innings and Tyler Mizenko and Tyler Rogers finished the shutout with a scoreless eighth and ninth innings. Rogers converted the save, his second of the season, to tie the series at one game apiece. Austin Slater provided the offense with a two-run double in the fifth inning. Christian Arroyo added a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to seven consecutive games The Squirrels trip continues on Wednesday at 6:35 PM in Binghamton. Richmond will return to The Diamond on Tuesday, May 31st with a Silver Squirrels Night. Please note the Flying Squirrels office will be closed Friday through Monday in honor of Memorial Day. The full promotional schedule can be found here.

Adalberto Mejia (1-1) was fluid to begin his eight start of the season. The lefty needed just eight pitches on the first inning, including a three-pitch strikeout of MLB rehabber Wilmer Flores. Mejia used just 27 pitches to set down the first nine hitters of the game without incident.

TheSquirrels applied a bit of pressure on Binghamton starter Tyler Pill in thefirst three innings but could not break through. Austin Slater walked with two outs in the first and Tyler Horan singled but Ryder Jones hit a sharp ground out to end the inning. Pill (3-4) kept the Squirrels off the board through the first four innings.

The B-Mets threatened off Mejia in the fourth but did not score. Flores delivered the first B-Mets hit of the game with a base hit to left. A fielder’s choice and single form Matt Oberste put a pair of runners aboard until Xorge Carrillo grounded out to third base.

Pill eventually faltered in the fifth inning as the Squirrels grabbed a 2-0 lead. Pill walked his counterpart Adalberto Mejia and then yielded an infield single to Rando Moreno. Pill managed to strikeout Arroyo for the second out but Austin Slater then pounded a double to left centerfield for a 2-0 lead. Richmond continued put Pill on the ropes by loading the bases in the sixth inning but failed to score. Ryder Jones opened the inning with a double and was stranded at third as Pill wiggled out of trouble. The sixth was the final inning for Pill as he departed trailing 2-0. The righty allowed the two runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts in the loss.

Mejia continued to pitch efficiently through the middle and late innings. Wilmer Flores connected on his second hit of the day with a single in the sixth and Matt Oberste opened the seventh with a double. Both were left aboard as Mejia hurled seven scoreless innings in the outing. The lefty allowed just four hits with six strikeouts and no walks in the victory.Tyler Mizenko relieved Mejia with a 1-2-3- eighth and Tyler Rogers shut the door with a scoreless ninth inning to complete the shutout. It was the third shutout of the season for the Squirrels pitching staff.