Groshans, Bec Homer But Yard Goats Hold On For 8-5 Saturday Victory
Jordan Groshans homered for the seventh time this year and Chris Bec hit a grand slam, but the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) fell to the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) 8-5 at Dunkin' Donuts Park. The Blue Jays' fourth-ranked prospect Jordan Groshans (2-4, HR, RBI,
Jordan Groshans homered for the seventh time this year and Chris Bec hit a grand slam, but the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) fell to the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) 8-5 at Dunkin' Donuts Park.
The Blue Jays' fourth-ranked prospect Jordan Groshans (2-4, HR, RBI, R) hit a solo home run off of Hartford (31-63) starter Ryan Feltner (W, 4-2) in the top of the second inning to put the Fisher Cats in the lead, 1-0. However, that lead was to be short-lived, as the Yard Goats got a solo home run from Casey Golden to tie the game at 1. Reilly Hovis (L, 2-3) then surrendered home runs to Jose Gomez and Sean Bouchard before departing the game after three innings with the score 4-1 Hartford.
Hartford would extend their lead to 8-1 after putting up runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. The Fisher Cats (44-47) utilized five relief pitchers in the effort – Emerson Jimenez, Jon Harris, Marcus Reyes, Parker Caracci, and Sean Rackoski – all of whom worked an inning apiece.
New Hampshire tightened the contest in the seventh inning. After loading the bases, Chris Bec hit his second home run of the year, a grand slam to left field to make it 8-5. The grand slam was New Hampshire's sixth of the season, breaking the record for most grand slams in a season that had stood since 2010. Will Gaddis would come in and work a scoreless ninth to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Hartford announced that Sunday's contest, initially slated for 1:05 in the afternoon, has been cancelled due to the landfall of Hurricane Henri. Hartford's win tonight concluded the season series, with New Hampshire the victors at a record of 13-10. The Fisher Cats winning the series three games to two means New Hampshire has not lost a series since the second week of July.
The Fisher Cats will return home to Delta Dental Stadium on Tuesday, August 24 for games with Binghamton (Mets) and Portland (Red Sox). For tickets, visit nhfishercats.com.