Reading, PA - It had the makings of a trap series: a red hot Reading team that had just come off a sweep in Erie, and a struggling New Hampshire squad without its best player. And yet it came down to the final game on Sunday before another big crowd
Reading, PA - It had the makings of a trap series: a red hot Reading team that had just come off a sweep in Erie, and a struggling New Hampshire squad without its best player. And yet it came down to the final game on Sunday before another big crowd of 6,693 at FirstEnergy Stadium, which started well for the Fightin Phils. Despite three home runs, including two from Scott Kingery , the Fisher Cats used a three run eighth inning and withstood a ninth inning rally for an 8-7 win to claim just their second series of the season.
Kingery set the tone with a first inning single off Fisher Cats starter Sean Reid-Foley, and Malquin Canelo sent the ballpark into a frenzy with a long home run to left to put Reading in the driver's seat at 2-0. Reid-Foley, a former second round pick, eventually settled in and didn't allow another hit until the fifth inning.
Needing length from his starter, manager Greg Legg had Tyler Viza take the mound before an eight-game roadtrip that will start against the first place Thunder tomorrow night. With a 2-0 lead in the third, the Fisher Cats got four straight hits with one out, with the final blow coming on Richard Ureña's go-ahead two-RBI triple into the right field corner. Tim Lopes followed with a sacrifice fly to Aaron Brown in center field, and the Fisher Cats doubled the lead to 4-2.
Reading had the answer in the fifth, which turned in their favor when Joel Fisher fought back and took a few close pitches to draw a walk. With the calls not going his away, a flummoxed Reid-Foley gave up a perfectly placed bunt single to Kingery that stayed inside the third base line. Canelo's groundout to third advanced the runners, and a wild pitch pushed them again as Fisher scored to make it 4-3. Carlos Tocci then directed a line drive off the left field wall, with his seventh double of the season tying the score at four.
Viza's final inning in the sixth started with a leadoff single from Harold Ramirez, which proceeded fielder's choice groundballs for the first two outs. A walk to catcher Michael De La Cruz ended Viza's day in his longest start of the season, and Yacksel Ríos came on for the second time in the series. With a payoff pitch coming to number nine hitter Derrick Loveless, the runners were on the move, and the Fisher Cats left fielder snuck an infield single to break the tie. Angelo Mora's throw to the plate was a tad late, but the 'Cats wouldn't hold the lead for long.
Facing Justin Shafer (1-1) in the bottom of the seventh, Kingery led off with a game-tying home run that just cleared the left field wall. However, New Hampshire scored three more times off Rios (1-2) in the eighth, getting RBIs from De La Cruz and center fielder Jonathan Davis.
The comeback started when Kingery led off the bottom of the ninth with another home run, giving him two home runs in the same game for the second time in three days. Tocci got on with a one out walk, and eventually a two out single from Kyle Martin made it an 8-7 ballgame. Mora came up as the winning run, but Tim Mayza shut the door and got a popup for his third save and just the second series win of the season for the Fisher Cats.
America's Classic Ballpark is proud to be a part of Pennsylvania's Americana Region. Season tickets for the 2017 season are available online at Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, and in-person at FirstEnergy Stadium. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter at @ReadingFightins and like them on Facebook viawww.facebook.com/fightins.
