A walk-off single by Ernie Clement in the bottom of the 13th inning handed the Richmond Flying Squirrels a 2-1 loss to open the road series against the Akron RubberDucks on Friday night at Canal Park.
In the longest game the team has played this season, Richmond (15-28) went 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position and struck out a season-high 17 times in the loss to Akron (23-23).
In the bottom of the 13th, a sacrifice bunt moved placed runner Tyler Krieger to third with one out and Clement drove him home with a single to left against Richmond reliever Sam Moll (Loss, 0-1).
Despite having the extra-inning runner placed at second to start each inning after the ninth, both teams were held off the scoreboard over the first three extra frames.
The Flying Squirrels failed to record a hit in extra innings, going 0-for-11 with 10 strikeouts, four intentional walks and grounded into a double play. Richmond stranded seven runners on base in their four extra-inning offensive tries. In the final 14 defensive outs for Akron, 12 were strikeouts and the other two came on a double-play groundout to end the top of the 12th.
Starting pitchers Caleb Baragar and Tanner Tully traded zeroes through the first three innings before the Flying Squirrels cracked the scoreboard in the fourth. Chris Shaw led off the inning with a double and later scored on a single from Jonah Arenado to give Richmond a 1-0 lead.
Arenado finished the game 1-for-4 with an RBI to extend his RBI streak to a team-best five games. He has now hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games.
In the fifth, the RubberDucks loaded the bases with two walks and a single before Nellie Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded walk from Baragar to force in the tying run. Baragar rebounded to strike out Daniel Johnson to end the scoring threat.
Baragar allowed one run on two hits across five innings, striking out six while tying a career high with five walks.
Right-hander Sam Wolff kept the game tied, tossing two perfect innings with two strikeouts. Wolff extended his scoreless streak to 11.2 innings, the longest scoreless streak for a Flying Squirrels pitcher this season.
The RubberDucks had a chance to win the game in the ninth. After Wilson Garcia doubled against right-hander Melvin Adon to open the frame, Connor Marabell singled to center field. Tyler Friis, who entered as a pinch-runner for Garcia, tried to score on the hit but was thrown out at the plate by Johneshwy Fargas and Brandon Van Horn to help force extra innings.
Adon and Raffi Vizcaino each pitched two scoreless innings of relief.
Akron reliever Argenis Angulo (Win, 2-2) worked 3.0 scoreless innings, working around three intentional walks with five strikeouts.
Gio Brusa went 2-for-4 with a walk.
The game was the first to extend beyond 11 innings for the Flying Squirrels since the implementation of Minor League Baseball’s pace-of-play rules that call for a runner to be placed on second base to begin each extra frame. It was the team’s longest game by total innings since a 2-1 win over Altoona at The Diamond on August 28, 2017.
The Flying Squirrels continue their against the Akron RubberDucks at Canal Park on Friday, Left-hander Sam Hentges (1-5, 4.78 ERA) is scheduled to start for Akron. Richmond’s starting pitcher has not been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and coverage begins with the Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup at 6:05 on Sports Radio 910 the Fan and 105.1 FM.
Tickets are on sale now for the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Week presented by Genworth. The All-Star Week festivities begin on Sunday, July 7 with Mayor Levar Stoney’s All-Star Week Kickoff on Brown’s Island, followed by the All-Star Country Music Jam on Monday, July 8, headlined by Big & Rich with special guests Cowboy Troy and DJ Sinister at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway. The Celebrity Home Run Derby is Tuesday, July 9 and the festivities wrap up with the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 10.
For tickets or more information, call 804-359-3866 (FUNN), visit SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets or stop by the Flying Squirrels box office.
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