Suns Fall 3-1 in Series Opener to Rome

Hagerstown, MD - The Hagerstown Suns were held to four hits on Friday night in a 3-1 loss in the opening game of a three-game set against the Rome Braves. The Suns fall to 6-16 overall and will play the second game of the series on Saturday with a 6:05 PM first pitch at Hagerstown Municipal Stadium.

Rome jumped out to an early lead in the second inning against Suns starter Alex Troop. William Contreras doubled off the wall in left and scored when Jean Carlos Encarnacion doubled to the base of the wall in left-center. Troop retired the next three hitters in order to hold the Braves to a 1-0 lead.
The Braves extended their lead in the third against Troop. Derian Cruz doubled down the third-base line to lead off the inning. With two outs, Jefrey Ramos grounded a ball to Suns second baseman Cole Freeman who made an errant throw to first, extending the inning and plating Cruz to give Rome a 2-0 lead. Contreras grounded into a fielder's choice, with Ramos being thrown out at second for the final out of the inning.
The Suns got on the board in the fourth against Braves starter Kyle Muller, ending a 14-inning scoreless drought. Luis Garcia singled to right field with one out, and Branden Boggetto struck out. With two away, Nick Banks doubled to right, scoring Garcia and cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Rome took the run back in the fifth during Troop's final inning of work. Cruz led off with a triple to the right-field corner, and Riley Delgado singled to center, scoring Cruz and making it a 3-1 game. Hagerstown was held hitless over the final five innings, taking their 16^th loss of the season with a 3-1 final score.
Troop hurled 5.0 innings while allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts. A.J. Bogucki pitched 2.0 scoreless innings in relief, allowing one hit with three strikeouts. Jared Brasher threw the eighth and the ninth, holding the Braves hitless and scoreless with a strikeout.
Notes: The 5.0 innings for Troop are a season-high and tie his career-high… Troop did not allow a walk for the first time this season… The eight hits Troop allowed are the most he's allowed as a professional… The Suns 14-inning scoreless drought dated back to the sixth inning of the 3-2 loss to Lakewood in game two of the double header on Wednesday… Hagerstown has a 1-6 record in the opening game of a series this season… The Suns continue the three-game series with the Rome Braves on Saturday at Hagerstown Municipal Stadium with a 6:05 PM first pitch… Come out to the stadium for Autism Awareness Night presented by ARC of Washington County… The Suns will be lighting the park blue to raise awareness for Autism… Come out and help raise money for the ARC of Washington County… The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a blue glow stick… Hagerstown will send LHP Nick Raquet (1-2, 2.91 ERA) to the mound while Rome has yet to name a starter… The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 5:50 PM on www.hagerstownsuns.com by going to multimedia and "Listen Live" which also has downloads for a free app on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Android… The broadcast is also available on the Hagerstown Suns Radio Network in the Tune-In Radio App.