Erie Drops Series Finale to Akron

The Erie SeaWolves were unable to hold onto a pair of leads against Akron RubberDucks and ultimately fell 6-4 on Sunday at UPMC Park following a 2:56 rain delay.

Erie opened the scoring in the second. Dillon Dingler was hit by a pitch from Gavin Williams. Gage Workman then cranked a two-run blast to right. It was his 10th long ball of the year and first since July 6 in Harrisburg. Two batters later, Dylan Rosa followed suit with his second big fly in as many days to give the SeaWolves a 3-0 lead.

Akron retaliated in the third. Jose Tena led off the frame with a single against Chance Kirby. Bryan Lavastida replaced Tena at first after hitting into a fielder’s choice. Jhonkensy Noel doubled and moved Tena to third. Micah Pries brought Lavastida and Noel in with a triple. Angel Martinez tied the game 3-3 with an RBI double the other way for his first Double-A base hit.

Parker Meadows pulled the SeaWolves ahead 4-3 with a solo home run with one out in the fifth. It was his second round-tripper of the series and his 14th of the season.

Williams received the no-decision. He tossed 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits, walking two, and striking out five.

Kirby got into some trouble in the sixth. Raynel Delgado and Chris Roller had back-to-back one-out singles to knock the Erie starter out of the game. Billy Lescher came in relief and gave up an infield single to Julian Escobedo. Lescher was able to buckle down, striking out Tena and inducing a fly out from Lavastida.

Kirby did not factor in the decision. He threw 5.1 innings, yielding three runs on eight hits, walking three, and striking out one.

The RubberDucks rallied in the seventh. Noel greeted Dario Gardea with a single and advanced to second on a walk to Pries. Martinez laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners 90 feet. Delgado drove in Noel and Martinez with a two-run single to make it a 5-4 game.

Akron tacked on a run in the ninth. Noel collected his fourth hit of the day to begin the inning, this time with a single against Brendan White. Martinez laced an RBI double to give the ‘Ducks a two-run cushion.

Robert Broom picked up his fourth save of the season. He pitched two shutout frames, giving up two hits, two walks, and striking out two.

Kyle Marman (5-2) earned the win. He tossed 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out two.

Gardea (0-1) received the loss. He yielded two runs on two hits in an inning of work and walked a batter.