Parmley Smacks First Pro Homer in Slugfest

MANCHESTER, N.H.- It was a thriller at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium and Ian Parmley stole the show for the Fisher Cats when he belted his first professional homer on Wednesday night. But, in a marathon affair, the Reading Fightin Phils held on for a 12-10 win in the second game of a three-game series.

The Phils (25-20) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the second as they scored thanks to a homer off the bat of Tony Thomas. Shane Opitz and the Fisher Cats were able to respond in the bottom half of the inning. Following a single and a double courtesy of Matt Newman and Jack Murphy, Opitz doubled to left field to score both.

The offensive wheels kept on churning for the Fisher Cats with two outs in the inning. Jorge Flores singled sending Opitz springing home to tie the game. Dwight Smith Jr. and Kevin Nolan responded with back-to-back singles for New Hampshire to push ahead 4-3.

Reading would come back to tie the game at 4-4 as Gabriel Lino laced a ground-rule double in the very next inning. But, once again, the Fisher Cats responded in the bottom of the frame. Jack Murphy walked to get the offense started after the Phils managed to get the two first outs in the inning. Cue another hit for the hot-swinging, Opitz, who has hit safety in the past nine games. Parmley then followed with a towering home run to right field to give New Hampshire a 7-4 lead.

It didn't end there. The score flip flopped once more in the fourth as the Phils tied it with three runs against John Anderson. Daric Barton put the Fisher Cats back ahead with a single in the bottom of the inning for an 8-7 lead.   

In the fifth, Reading went ahead for good against Dustin Antolin (L; 1-1). KC Serna tied the game with a single before Cam Perkins drove home to for a 10-8 Reading advantage.

Adam Loewen (W; 1-0) came on for the Phils to face his former team in the bottom of the fifth, and he quieted down the New Hampshire bats. Over the final five innings, Hampshire scored two runs, but managed just two hits.

Reading finished the game with 12 runs on 21 hits while New Hampshire had 10 runs on 14 hits. Both teams committed three errors in the game.

Dwight Smith Jr. led the way for New Hampshire with three hits while Opitz finished the night 2-5 with a pair of doubles, two runs batted in, and two runs scored. Jorge Flores and Kevin Nolan also added two hits and an RBI each.

The series now comes to an end on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. The game will feature a spectacular Atlas Fireworks show. Tickets are available at www.nhfishercats.com.

Matt Boyd will go for his team-leading fifth win of the season against Reading lefty Tom Windle. Radio Coverage begins at 6:45 with Tom Gauthier and Bob Lipman on the WGIR Fisher Cats Radio Network and at www.nhfishercats.com.