Flying Squirrels shut out in Trenton to close first half

TRENTON, N.J. - The Richmond Flying Squirrels struck out 19 times, the most in a nine-inning game in franchise history, and lost, 6-0, to the Trenton Thunder on Tuesday at ARM & HAMMER Park.

Richmond (23-44) finished the first half of the season in sixth place in the Western Division of the Eastern League with a 23-44 record. Trenton (38-27) earned the first-half title in the Eastern Division with the win.
Thunder right-hander Deivi Garcia (Win, 3-2) struck out the first eight Richmond batters (23-44) he faced, ultimately fanning 15 across six scoreless innings. He is the first pitcher to strike out 15 Flying Squirrels batters in a single game in franchise history and the first Eastern League pitcher with at least 15 strikeouts in a game since 2013.
Trenton plated three runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead. After loading the bases on an error, single and a walk, the Thunder scored the first run of the game when Garrett Williams (Loss, 1-7) hit Wendell Rijo with a pitch to force in a run. Ben Ruta followed with a sacrifice fly and Chris Gittens singled to drive in the final run of the frame.
The Thunder tacked on two more runs in the next inning. Two batters after a leadoff single from Mandy Alvarez, Zack Zehner hit an RBI triple to right-center field. Zehner subsequently scored on an RBI single from Rashad Crawford, giving Trenton a 4-0 lead.
Garcia carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, when Gio Brusa doubled with two outs. He finished the game with each of Richmond's two hits, going 2-for-3.
After Trenton reliever Brooks Kriske recorded a strikeout in the sixth, Domingo Acevedo struck out a pair in the seventh, including Will Maddox. Maddox's strikeout was the 17^th of the game for Richmond, setting a new franchise-record for the most strikeouts in a single game in Flying Squirrels history.
Reliever Daniel Alvarez picked up a strikeout - Richmond's 19^th - as part of a perfect ninth to finish the shutout for Trenton. The 19 strikeouts by the Flying Squirrels offense tied the most in a nine-inning game by a team in the Eastern League since at least 2005, as far back as the information is available.
It was the eighth time this season that Richmond has been shut out and the second time that Trenton has shut out the Flying Squirrels.
The Flying Squirrels continue their series with the Trenton Thunder on Wednesday in the first game of the season's second half. Right-hander Brandon Lawson (2-2, 3.75 ERA) is scheduled to face right-hander Nick Nelson (2-1, 2.45 ERA). First pitch is slated for 7 p.m., and coverage begins with the Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup presented by Air Force Reserve at 6:30 on Sports Radio 910 the Fan and 105.1 FM.
Tickets are on sale now for the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Week presented by Genworth. The All-Star Week festivities begin on Sunday, July 7 with Mayor Levar Stoney's All-Star Week Kickoff on Brown's Island, followed by the All-Star Country Music Jam on Monday, July 8, headlined by Big & Rich with special guests Cowboy Troy and DJ Sinister at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway. The Celebrity Home Run Derby is Tuesday, July 9 and the festivities wrap up with the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 10.  
 
For tickets or more information, call 804-359-3866 (FUNN), visit SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets or stop by the Flying Squirrels box office. 
 
-SQUIRRELS-