Nieporte's Big Night Pushes Erie to Victory
The SeaWolves took an early lead in the top of the first inning and led wire-to-wire as they snapped their longest losing streak of the season with a 5-2 win over the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Friday night at The Diamond. Richmond starter Jake Dahlberg retired the first batter of
The SeaWolves took an early lead in the top of the first inning and led wire-to-wire as they snapped their longest losing streak of the season with a 5-2 win over the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Friday night at The Diamond.
Richmond starter Jake Dahlberg retired the first batter of the game before hitting Dane Myers and yielding a base hit to Kerry Carpenter, giving Erie a pair of baserunners. Quincy Nieporte blasted a three-run home run to left-center, his 14th of the season and second in as many games for a 3-0 lead.
The Squirrels cut into the lead in the last of the fourth against Erie starter Austin Bergner. Sean Roby led off with a walk and reached second on a wild pitch. Armani Smith singled with one out, pushing Roby to third. With two outs, Richmond successfully executed a double steal with Smith scoring from third, cutting the Erie lead down to a pair of runs at 3-1.
Nieporte came through again in the top of the fifth against Richmond reliever Ryan Walker. Myers led off with a walk, moved to second on a passed ball and got to third on a Carpenter groundout. Nieporte lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Myers for, taking the SeaWolves lead back up to three runs.
Erie grew the lead in the top of the eighth against Richmond reliever Chris Wright when Andre Lipcius homered to left to make it 5-1. The home run for Lipcius was his fifth and first since May 20.
Richmond got one back in the last of the eighth when Roby homered off of Yaya Chentouf, making it a three-run game.
Brendan White retired the side in order in the ninth, preserving the Erie win, earning his fifth save in five chances.
Bergner (3-2) earned the win allowing a run on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in five innings.
Dahlberg (3-2) took the loss allowing three runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
Four Erie relivers in Zac Houston, Nick Kuzia, Chentouf and White limited the Squirrels to just one hit over the final four innings of the game. They combined to strike out nine while walking one.
The Erie win, coupled with an Akron win at Somerset, means that the SeaWolves, Flying Squirrels and RubberDucks are back in a first place tie with 14 games remaining in the first half of the season.