Atkins Dazzles in Sea Dogs 7-1 Win

Portland, Maine- Mitch Atkins allowed just one run and one hit over six-plus innings and the Sea Dogs (21-41) won the rubber match 7-1 over the Richmond Flying Squirrels (24-39) in front of a sellout crowd on Sunday afternoon at Hadlock Field.
 
Atkins (W, 2-2) was perfect through the first 5.1 innings of the game, retiring the first 16 batters he faced before walking Steve Lerud with one out in the sixth. Christian Arroyo led off the seventh with a double down the right field line to end Atkins' no-hit bid. Atkins struck out seven in the victory.
 
Aneury Tavarez hit a solo homer to right field with two outs in the second inning to give Portland the early 1-0 lead. The Sea Dogs added two more runs in the fourth on an RBI triple by Rainel Rosario and an RBI double from Tavarez, who finished the game a triple shy of the cycle.
 
Richmond starter Andrew Suarez (L, 2-3) allowed four runs on eight hits in 6+ innings with one walk and four strikeouts.
 
Portland scored four insurance runs in the seventh off of Preston Claiborne and Phil McCormick. Ryan Court hit a two-run single, Andrew Benintendi followed-up with an RBI single, and Cole Sturgeon was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to extend the lead to 7-1.
 
Luis Ysla worked two scoreless innings in relief and Chandler Shepherd closed out the game with a perfect ninth. Shepherd has retired 15 consecutive batters across five appearances in June.

The Sea Dogs open up a six-game road trip on Tuesday night in Bowie, Maryland, against the Baysox. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 from Prince George's Stadium. Pregame coverage begins on the WPEI US Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network at 6:15 PM. Tickets for the next Sea Dogs homestand beginning June 21st are available and can be purchased by calling 879-9500 or online at seadogs.com