The Richmond Flying Squirrels surrendered five runs in the seventh to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, ultimately falling, 9-4, on Thursday at The Diamond.
With the loss, Richmond (17-32) was swept by Binghamton (30-18). It was the third time this season the Flying Squirrels have been swept.
The Rumble Ponies scored two runs in the top of the first on three hits to jump out to a 2-0 lead against left-hander Conner Menez. Menez bounced back to retire the final 13 batters he faced, tying a season-high with nine strikeouts across his five innings.
The Flying Squirrels cut the deficit in half in the fifth. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Johneshwy Fargas laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Matt Winn to third and Zach Houchins to second. Winn later scored on a wild pitch to make it a 2-1 game.
Richmond pulled ahead in the sixth, scoring two runs on four hits. After Will Maddox singled and stole second base, he scored on a single by Gio Brusa and an error from third-baseman Will Toffey. Following a pitching change, Brusa scored on a squeeze bunt by Winn against right-hander Ryley Gilliam (Win, 3-0) to give the Flying Squirrels a 4-3 lead.
Binghamton put up five runs on four hits and two errors against right-hander Ryan Halstead (Loss, 1-4) and left-hander Sam Moll in the seventh. With runners on second and third and one out, Halstead fielded a ground ball from Gilliam and threw high to first base, allowing Jason Krizan to score on an error. Next, Braxton Lee scored on a wild pitch.
Moll entered the game with two outs and a runner on third. After walking Andres Gimenez, he picked off Gimenez at first but Brusa threw wide of second base, allowing Gillam to score from third on the second error of the inning. Gimenez later scored on an RBI double from Patrick Mazeika. Ali Sanchez capped the inning with an RBI single to make it 8-3.
Right-hander Connor Overton entered after the Sanchez single, forming the first-ever all-Richmond-native battery at The Diamond in Flying Squirrels history with Winn, a J.R. Tucker High School graduate. Overton, an Atlee High School alum, struck out Toffey on three pitches to end the inning.
After the Rumble Ponies tacked on a run in the eighth, the Flying Squirrels got a run back in the bottom of the eighth when Jonah Arenado drove in Jacob Heyward, who doubled to lead off the inning. Heyward finished the game 3-for-5 with a double, while Arenado went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
The Rumble Ponies added another run in the ninth to round out the scoring before Austin McGeorge held Richmond scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
The Flying Squirrels begin an 11-game, 10-day road trip on Friday, starting with the first of a five-game series against the Reading Fightin Phils. Right-hander Alfred Gutierrez (1-2, 4.54 ERA) is scheduled to face right-hander Ramon Rosso (3-1, 2.32 ERA) at FirstEnergy Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., and coverage begins with the Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup at 6:40 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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