Akron 5-11-0Hartford 4-11-2WP: Matt Whitehouse (2-1)LP: Jack Wynkoop (2-3)S: Luke Eubank (2)HR: Sever (4)T- 3:05 ( :11 delay)A- 6,451
Akron 5-11-0
Hartford 4-11-2
WP: Matt Whitehouse (2-1)
LP: Jack Wynkoop (2-3)
S: Luke Eubank (2)
HR: Sever (4)
T- 3:05 ( :11 delay)
A- 6,451
HARTFORD, CT- Closer Luke Eubank escaped a bases loaded jam in the ninth inning and the Akron Rubber Ducks held on to beat the Hartford Yard Goats, 5-4, Saturday night, before 6,451 at Dunkin' Donuts Park. It was the 11th sellout of the season for the Yard Goats. Hartford (22-20), which has lost five of its last six games at home, will go for the split of the four-game series Sunday afternoon.
Stymied for five innings by Akron lefty starter Matt Whitehouse, and down 5-0 after 6 1/2 innings, the Yard Goats mounted a comeback. The Goats scored a run in the seventh on an RBI-ground out by Ryan Metzler and added two more runs in the eighth, when two runs scored on two wild pitches by Eubank. Hartford's Anthony Phillips brought the crowd to its feet, just missing a three-run homer, when he backed up left fielder Andrew Calica to the wall for the final out.
Hartford kept up the pressure on in the ninth, when Metzler opened the inning with a single. With one out, Yonathan Daza singled and Brendan Rodgers scored Metzler with a double off the left field wall. But following an intentional walk to Dom Nuñez to load the bases, Eubank settled down to strike out Brian Mundell and get Sam Hilliard to ground out to second, earning his second save.
Yard Goats starter Jack Wynkoop retired the first 11 batters he faced, before Joe Sever, the nephew of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, hit a line drive home run into the left field seats. Akron (24-18) scored two runs in the fifth on an RBI-single by Tyler Krieger and an RBI-double by Andrew Calica. Five of Akron's six batters collected hits in the inning, but two of the runners were thrown out on the base paths.
Wynkoop was lifted following six innings, after allowing another run on an RBI-single by Connor Marabell. He yielded four runs on nine hits, did not walk a batter and struck out four.
The Cleveland Indians affiliate increased the lead to 5-0 on an run scoring-single by Willi Castro in the seventh, before Hartford mounted its comeback attempt.
Daza paced the Hartford offense with four hits, while Hilliard added three. Calica, Castro and Marabell each had two hits and an RBI, while Sever added a home run to lead the Rubber Ducks.
The series and the home stand wrap up Sunday afternoon at 1:05. RHP Ryan Castellani will pitch for the Yard Goats against RHP Dominic Masi for Akron. The game will be televised on Vantage Sportsnet, broadcast on AM 1410 WPOP and streamed on newsradio.1410.com and MiLB.com.
