Plouffe caps Rock Cats' rally

Trevor Plouffe's RBI double capped the Rock Cats' ninth-inning rally and gave New Britain a 4-3 walk-off win over Harrisburg in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader.

The Rock Cats entered the ninth inning trailing 3-2. Rashad Eldridge singled to lead off the frame and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before moving to third on a wild pitch. Brandon Roberts then singled to left field to score Eldridge and tie the game. Felix Molina was intentionally walked after Roberts stole second, and Plouffe, a 2004 first-round draft pick, followed with his game-winning double.

Brock Peterson's RBI single in the fourth inning put New Britain on the board, while Roberts' run-scoring single with two outs in the seventh sent the game into extra innings.

Cristian Guerrero drove in two runs for the Senators, ripping a solo homer in the third and a go-ahead RBI double in the ninth. Dan DeMent hit a run-scoring single in the second.

Tim Lahey (1-1) earned the win despite allowing a ninth-inning run. Starter Brad Baker surrendered two runs over 6 1/3 innings while striking out seven, and Jay Sawatski followed with 1 1/3 shutout frames.

Zechry Zinicola (0-2) came on to pitch the ninth and took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits while retiring just one batter. Starter Collin Balester yielded two runs on five hits over seven innings, while Brett Campbell tossed a scoreless eighth. --Benjamin Hill/MLB.com