Squirrels homer twice but comeback falls short in loss to Rumble Ponies

After facing a four-run deficit in the fifth inning, the Richmond Flying Squirrels pulled within a run but allowed two in the ninth inning and fell, 7-4, to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies Thursday night at The Diamond.

The Flying Squirrels (53-57, 13-28) totaled four of their seven hits for extra bases but went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the defeat.

Binghamton (42-68, 14-27) opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double by Ronny Mauricio to take a 1-0 lead.

Zach Ashford made it a two-run Binghamton lead with an RBI single in the second inning off Richmond starter Kai-Wei Teng (Loss, 5-9). Teng finished the night with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings and allowed five runs, seven hits and four walks.

Ashford extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly.

After Richmond notched a double steal in the fourth to put runners at second and third, Armani Smith rolled into an RBI groundout that broke the shutout at 3-1.

Mauricio punched the Rumble Ponies to a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning with a two-run homer.

Riley Mahan responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the deficit to three runs. It was Mahan’s second home run with Richmond.

In the sixth inning, Brett Auerbach rocketed a double to left field and Smith traded places with him with an RBI double to center, making it a two-run game.

Leading off the bottom of the eighth, Brandon Martorano mashed his ninth home run of the year, a solo shot, to cut the deficit to 5-4. The Flying Squirrels had runners at the corners when a line shot was snagged by Mauricio to close out the frame.

The Rumble Ponies rallied in the ninth inning with back-to-back run scoring hits to increase their advantage to 7-4. Grant Hartwig (Save, 1) induced a strikeout, groundout and a flyout in a scoreless ninth inning.

Binghamton starter Jose Chacin (Win, 2-8) allowed five hits and three runs (two earned) with five strikeouts over six innings of work.

The Flying Squirrels will don their Copa la Diversion identity as Las Ardillas Voladoras on Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. It is Cuba night where fans can learn about the music, food, sports and culture of Cuba. Plus, the first 1,000 fans ages 15 and older will go home with an Ardillas Voladoras fleece blanket presented by Pepsi & Mountain Dew. It is Funnville Friday Happy Hour every Friday at The Diamond from 5:30-7:30 p.m. with two-dollar 12-ounce domestic beers at all concession stands and two-dollar fountain sodas at the Pepsi fountain.

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