Home Squirrels catcher Arnold delivers DH split
Sports News

Squirrels catcher Arnold delivers DH split

Contributors

richmond flying squirrelsFlying Squirrels catcher Jeff Arnold fell a triple shy of the cycle on Saturday, as Richmond (47-65) and Bowie (48-65) split a pair of games, both with the final score of 8-2 at Prince George’s Stadium. Bowie ambushed the Squirrels in game one, defeating lefty Matt Gage in a short start. Richmond reciprocated with an 8-2 win in the nightcap, collecting 12 hits in the victory. Steven Duggar extended his hitting streak through both games and has now hit safely in 14 consecutive contests.

 

Game One Recap

Bowie came out of the gates swinging in the first contest of the night. The Baysox scored a pair of runs in the first inning, three in the second and two more in the third against Richmond starter Matt Gage. Julio Borbon opened the first with a single and scored the first run on a triple from Sharlon Schoop. Schoop was brought in via a ground out to second base, giving Bowie a 2-0 lead. Gage escaped the inning without further damage, but did not last long in the outing.

The Baysox piled on three more runs in second and sent nine men to the plate in the inning. Henry Urrutia led off with a base hit and Drew Dosch worked a one-out walk to get things going. Julio Borbon then added his second hit of the game, bouncing a ball into center field for a 3-0 lead. Schoop followed with another RBI single and with the bases loaded, Gage dropped a pop fly to cap the scoring in the three-run inning.
Gage (6-7) returned for the bottom of the third but was removed after a pair of base hits started the inning. Reliever Jose Casilla replaced Gage and he yielded a two-run double to fall behind 7-0. Gage suffered the loss and allowed the seven runs on sevenhits over two innings of work.

Bowie’s Jason Garcia was in control, pitching with early lead. Garcia kept the Squirrels off balance through six innings of work. Steven Duggar connected on the first hit for Richmond, an infield single in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games. Garcia allowed just four hits and picked up a pair of double plays to skate through six innings. Richmond finally struck for a run in the top of the sixth. Tyler Horan reached on a walk and Steve Lerud lashed a single into center field. Christian Arroyo brought in the first Richmond run with a base hit. It was the only run allowed by Garcia in the win.

Jose Casilla provided the much-needed long relief, due to the short outing by Gage. Casilla tossed three scoreless innings to breach the contest into the sixth. Carlos Alvarado entered in the bottom of the sixth inning and allowed a solo home run to Adrian Marin. The homer made it an 8-1 gameand was the first earned run allowed by Alvarado since his arrival from Augusta.

The Squirrels pushed across a run in the seventh and final inning against Bowie reliever Donnie Hart. Chris Shaw reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third on a double from Ryder Jones. Brandon Bednar then grounded in Shaw for an 8-2 contest. Hart finished of the game to end the Baysox losing streak at four.

 

Game Two Recap

Richmond reciprocated the agony and 8-2 score in the second game, defeating Bowie to split the doubleheader. The Squirrels found success against Bowie lefty Jayson Aquino and with two outs in the second inning, Carlos Moncrief and Brandon Bednar started up a rallywith a pair of singles. Jeff Arnold then smashed a two-run double for a 2-0Richmond lead.

The early 2-0 lead provided some leeway for spot starter Christian Jones. Jones picked up a double play in the first inning and another in the second to navigated around traffic. Jones retired the side 1-2-3 in the third and pitched into the fourth in his first start of the year.

Richmond added a pair of run in the top of the third to take a 4-0 lead. Again with two outs, C.J. Hinojosa and Hunter Cole lashed base hits to set up an RBI situation for Chis Shaw. Shawdrilled a double into the gap in left center field for a 4-0 advantage. Jeff Arnold made it a 5-0 lead by smashing a home run over the right center field wall in the top of the fourth.

Jones labored in the fourth and could not make it through the inning. Henry Urrutia singled, Joey Terdoslavich doubled and Quincy Latimore walked to load the bases and end the outing forJones. Tyler Mizenko was called upon the get out of the jam and escaped with just one of the three inherited runners scoring. Jones allowed the one run on four hits and three walks over 3 1/3 innings of work.

Mizenko struggled with his control, walking four batters in the outing. Bowie struck for another run in the fifth, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Mizenko walked the first two hitters of the inning and relinquished a single to Garabez Rosa, loading the bases. Mizenko managed to induce a double play, trading the two outs for the one run but he walked the next batter and was replaced by right-hander Preston Claiborne. Claiborne struck out the two hitters he faced in the inning, keeping the Squirrels ahead, 5-2.

Richmond pushed the starter Aquino from the game and pulled ahead 8-2 in the sixth. Steven Duggar extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a two-run single through the drawn-in infield. Aquino (5-9) suffered the loss and allowed six runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings of work.

Claiborne (2-0) took the Squirrels the rest of the way, earning the win in relief. Claiborne struck out four batters over the final 2 1/3 innings to secure the doubleheader split. The split pushed the Squirrels ahead in the series, 2-1 and ahead over all in the season series against Bowie, 9-7.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.