Erie blanks Harrisburg to win third straight

ERIE, Pa--- Starter A.J. Ladwig's strong performance propelled the SeaWolves to their third consecutive win, shutting out the Harrisburg Senators 4-0 at UPMC Park.
Ladwig kicked off the game with three strikeouts going into the bottom of the second inning. Erie designated hitter Zach Cox got the scoring started with an RBI double off of Taylor Hill to make it 1-0 Erie.
The SeaWolves tacked on another run with sacrifice fly from Harold Castro in the third, scoring Ross Kivett on a deep fly ball into center.
In the fourth inning with two men on, Mike Eaves reached on infield single. On the same play, an errant throw from Harrisburg third baseman Drew Ward allowed Mike Gerber to come in to score. A sacrifice fly from Tim Remes then brought in Zach Cox to escalate the lead to 4-0.
Ladwig and reliever Jairo Labourt combined for a tremendous night on the mound for the SeaWolves. The right-handed starter finished with a season high eight strikeouts to pick up his second win on the season to improve to 2-1. Labourt worked a season long three innings and fanned three in the effort to earn his first save in AA.
Taylor Hill (1-1) gets the loss for the Senators after giving up all four runs, two of them earned, in six innings of work.
The SeaWolves have now won three in a row for the first time since May 9^th to May 11^th, and will continue the series in a doubleheader tomorrow at UPMC Park. RHP Myles Jaye (0-4, 4.22 ERA) starts game one against the Senators RHP Derek Eitel (1-1, 3.55 ERA). Game two will showcase the matchup of RHP A.J. Achter (0-0, 5.06 ERA) against Harrisburg's RHP Derek Self (0-0, 3.40 ERA). Saturday is Fireworks Night at UPMC Park, all part of UPMC Health Plan Paint the Park Pink weekend.