Hornung Crushes First Homer as Cats Fall Short in Hartford
HARTFORD, CT – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (1-2, 30-42) fell to the Hartford Yard Goats (2-1, 38-34) at Dunkin’ Park on Thursday night, 2-1. Fisher Cats designated hitter Jackson Hornung blasted his first career Double-A homer in the top of the first inning as the only New Hampshire run
HARTFORD, CT – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (1-2, 30-42) fell to the Hartford Yard Goats (2-1, 38-34) at Dunkin’ Park on Thursday night, 2-1. Fisher Cats designated hitter Jackson Hornung blasted his first career Double-A homer in the top of the first inning as the only New Hampshire run of the night in a game that lasted one hour and 54 minutes.
Playing in his third career Double-A game, the designated hitter Hornung belted a homer in the top of the first inning to give New Hampshire an early 1-0 lead. Hornung is now 7-for-12 and has reached safely in eight of his first 13 plate appearances for the Fisher Cats. It was Hornung’s fourth round tripper of the season after knocking three with High-A Vancouver.
Tonight’s top takeaways:
RHP Grant Rogers completes fourth quality start of the season
1B/OF Jackson Hornung blasts first career Double-A homer in his third game with the Cats
RHP Michael Dominguez fans four in two scoreless innings of relief
New Hampshire is 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position in Hartford
Fisher Cats starter Grant Rogers (L, 1-4) fired his fourth quality start for the Fisher Cats since getting called up from High-A Vancouver on May 20. Rogers has reached the six-inning mark in four of his seven starts with the Fisher Cats. Rogers has held opponents to two earned runs or less in six of his seven starts with New Hampshire.
After Hornung’s blast, Hartford starter McCade Brown (W, 2-0) allowed a double to Fisher Cats first baseman Peyton Williams before retiring the next 13 batters he faced. Brown finished with six punchouts and surrendered one earned run on six hits to take the win.
New Hampshire turned to righty Michael Dominguez out of the bullpen for the seventh and eighth innings. Dominguez tallied four swinging strikeouts and allowed one hit for his seventh scoreless outing of the season.
In the bottom of the first inning, designated hitter Benny Montgomery singled off Rogers’ glove and cashed in third baseman Kyle Karros from third totie the score at 1-1. The Yard Goats added another run in the bottom of the third when catcher Bryant Betancourt skied a sacrifice fly to plate shortstop Jose Torres from third, and Hartford took control, 2-1.
Hartford relievers Carson Skipper threw two scoreless innings and Welinton Herrera (S, 2) tossed a six-out save to finalize the Goats’ 2-1 win.
New Hampshire and Hartford start the latter half of the six-game series at 7:10 PM EDT on Friday night. Fisher Cats starter Ryan Watson (4-4, 4.19 ERA) takes to the hill for his third start against the Goats this season, and right-hander Jack Mahoney (0-4, 7.14 ERA) gets the ball for Hartford from Dunkin’ Park.
New Hampshire returns to Delt Dental Stadium on Tuesday, July 1 to welcome the Portland Sea Dogs for three games. New Hampshire teams up with the Ted Williams Museum and Delta Dental to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Boston Red Sox on July 1, offering fans an opportunity at a pregame meet-and-greet with Red Sox legends Rico Petrocelli, Bill “Spaceman” Lee and Bernie Carbo.
Fans can purchase 2025 multi-game memberships and single-game tickets at nhfishercats.com, via email at [email protected], by phone at (603) 641-2005, and in-person at the Delta Dental Stadium Box Office on 1 Line Drive in Manchester, New Hampshire.
About the New Hampshire Fisher Cats
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays and play their games at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. Over 160 former Fisher Cats have reached the Major League level. The Fisher Cats have raised millions of dollars for various charities through the Fisher Cats Foundation and continuously strive to improve the quality of life for Granite State residents. The organization has been recognized as New Hampshire Business Review’s “Best Sporting Event to Take Clients to”, Parenting New Hampshire Magazine’s “New Hampshire’s Favorite Sporting Event for Families”, and New Hampshire Magazine’s “Best New Hampshire Sports Team”. For more information on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, please visit nhfishercats.com, call (603) 641-2005, or contact Chris Jared via email at [email protected].