Dugan Darnell Pitches Yard Goats to Victory in Extras

*Final: Hartford 4, Akron 3 (10) *

WP: Dugan Darnell (4-1)

LP: Davis Sharpe (2-3)

S: None

Akron, OH- Dugan Darnell struck out five batters over two scoreless innings, and Grant Lavigne belted an RBI single in the 10^th inning as the Hartford Yard Goats beat the Akron RubberDucks 4-3 in extra innings on Thursday night at Canal Park in Ohio. The Yard Goats trailed 3-1 in the eighth inning but came from behind to defeat Akron for the second time in three games. Cleveland Guardians RHP Cody Morris started for the RubberDucks on MLB rehab and allowed a run in 2.2 innings of work. Yard Goats pitching combined for 14 strikeouts, and nine of the final ten outs of the game for Akron batters were strikeouts.

The Yard Goats scored the first run in the second inning on Drew Romo’s sacrifice fly which scored Zac Veen from third base. Veen led off the inning with a single against Akron starter Cody Morris who was on MLB rehab with the Guardians. Akron tied the game at 1-1 with two singles and a walk in the second off Hartford starter Mike Ruff.

Akron took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on Jonathan Rodriguez’ double, scoring Bryan Lavastida, and then added a run in the fifth inning on Angel Martinez RBI single, and it was 3-1 after five innings.

The Yard Goats rallied to tie the game with a pair of runs in the eighth inning off the Akron bullpen. Jaime Arias who entered for Morris in the third inning did a nice job and allowed just one hit over the five innings. However, he walked two and surrendered a single in the eighth inning to load the bases and was lifted for Davis Sharpe. Hunter Goodman hit a deep fly ball to center field and Niko Decolati scored to make it 3-2. Next, Kyle Datres hit an infield grounder which scored Bladimir Restituyo and tied the game at 3-3.

The Yard Goats took a 4-3 lead with a run in the 10^th inning. Bladimir Restituyo bunted Niko Decolati to third base and Grant Lavigne followed with an opposite field RBI single to left field, giving Hartford its first lead since 1-0 in the second inning. Meanwhile, Dugan Darnell who struck out the side and worked around a walk in the ninth inning stayed in for the 10^th. The righty got a flyout, and after a walk struck out the final two batters to earn the win.

The Yard Goats continue their two-city 12-game road trip on Friday night at 7:05, and play the fourth of a six-game series against the RubberDucks. The game can be heard on AM 1410 WPOP, FM 100.9 and the iheart radio app. The Yard Goats return home to Dunkin’ Park on Tuesday, June 6th (7:10 PM), and host the New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, for a six-game series.