In a back-and-forth thriller that went to extra innings, the Richmond Flying Squirrels held on to win, 6-5, against the Harrisburg Senators Friday night at FNB Field.
The Flying Squirrels (19-12) had a franchise-record seven batters hit by pitches in the game and were outhit, 14-5, by the Senators (15-15).
Simon Whiteman started the 10th inning at second base as the placed runner, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly from Brandon Martorano that gave Richmond a 6-5 lead.
R.J. Dabovich (Win, 2-0) worked through the final two innings without allowing a run, including stranding the placed runner in the bottom of the 10th.
Trailing by one run in the eighth inning, Harrisburg’s Jackson Cluff lined an RBI single off Chris Wright and evened the score, 5-5. It was the fourth consecutive run the Senators scored after trailing by four runs until the sixth.
In the first inning, Sean Roby drove an RBI double to center field that scored Martorano from first base. With the bases loaded, Tyler Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch from Harrisburg starter Steven Fuentes that allowed Roby to score and jumped the Flying Squirrels to a 2-0 lead.
In the second, Mike Gigliotti brought in a run with a groundout that upped the Richmond advantage to 3-0.
Dondrei Hubbard moved the score to 3-1 off an RBI single in the second inning.
Leading off the fourth inning, Roby belted a solo home run to left field that gave Richmond three-run lead. Roby finished the night 3-for-6 with a double, home run and two RBIs.
Frankie Tostado launched a solo home run that extended the Flying Squirrels lead to 5-1 in the sixth inning. It was Tostado’s fourth home run and Richmond’s league-leading 41st this season.
The Senators answered with three runs, including two homers, in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 5-4. KJ Harrison and Justin Connell both had solo shots against Richmond starter Jake Dahlberg. Jack Dunn lined an RBI single off Taylor Rashi for his third hit of the night.
The seven batters hit by the Senators were a franchise record, as were the five hit by starter Steven Fuentes. It was the most batters hit in a game by an Eastern League team since at least 2005.
Saturday’s game between the Flying Squirrels and Senators will start at 6:00 p.m. from FNB Field. Left-handed pitcher Jake Dahlberg (2-1, 2.97) will start for Richmond opposed by right-hander Steven Fuentes (1-1, 3.24) for Harrisburg,
The Flying Squirrels return home May 24-29 for a six-game series against the Hartford Yard Goats. Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-3866 or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.
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