Kirwer Homers Again As Cats Fall 7-6

HARRISBURG, PA. – Tanner Kirwer homered for the second straight night, but a ninth inning comeback from Harrisburg (32-46) overpowered New Hampshire (41-44) in a 7-6 game on Saturday night.

Harrisburg scored twice in the bottom of the first to take an early 2-0 lead. The Fisher Cats then broke the ice, as Tanner Kirwer (1-4, HR, RBI, BB) hit a home run on New Hampshire's first hit of the game to trim the deficit to 2-1. The Fisher Cats then took the lead 3-2 after Demi Orimoloye (2-5, 2 2B, RBI) and Ryan Gold (first Double-A RBI) drove in a pair in the third inning to make it 3-2.

After Harrisburg equalized in the bottom of the third, The Fisher Cats scored three unanswered runs on an LJ Talley RBI single in the fifth and a pair of errors from Harrisburg, making it 6-3 in the sixth.

Harrisburg was held without a hit from the middle of the fifth inning until the ninth, as the relief efforts of Graham Spraker (2 IP, 0 H, 3 K) and Jon Harris (1.1 IP, 0H, 2 K) stalled the Harrisburg bats. The Senators scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth, all charged to Sean Rackoski (BS, 2; L, 1-2). Harrisburg's Donovan Casey drove home the winning run with one out on a deep single to left field.

New Hampshire starter Nick Fraze went four and two third innings, giving up eight hits and three runs in his Double-A debut. For Harrisburg, their starter Gerardo Carrillo went five and one third innings, giving up five runs of which three were earned. The win goes to Jhon Romero, who improves to 2-3 after striking out four of the eight batters he faced in relief.

The series with Harrisburg concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. New Hampshire 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.