Squirrels squander chances, drop marathon series opener in Akron
AKRON, Ohio - A walk-off single by Ernie Clement in the bottom of the 13th inning handed the Richmond Flying Squirrels a 2-1 loss to open the road series against the Akron RubberDucks on Friday night at Canal Park.
AKRON, Ohio - A walk-off single by
In the longest game the team has played this season, Richmond (15-28) went 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position and struck out a season-high 17 times in the loss to Akron (23-23).
In the bottom of the 13th, a sacrifice bunt moved placed runner
Despite having the extra-inning runner placed at second to start each inning after the ninth, both teams were held off the scoreboard over the first three extra frames.
The Flying Squirrels failed to record a hit in extra innings, going 0-for-11 with 10 strikeouts, four intentional walks and grounded into a double play. Richmond stranded seven runners on base in their four extra-inning offensive tries. In the final 14 defensive outs for Akron, 12 were strikeouts and the other two came on a double-play groundout to end the top of the 12th.
Starting pitchers
Arenado finished the game 1-for-4 with an RBI to extend his RBI streak to a team-best five games. He has now hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games.
In the fifth, the RubberDucks loaded the bases with two walks and a single before
Baragar allowed one run on two hits across five innings, striking out six while tying a career high with five walks.
Right-hander
The RubberDucks had a chance to win the game in the ninth. After
Adon and
Akron reliever
The game was the first to extend beyond 11 innings for the Flying Squirrels since the implementation of Minor League Baseball's pace-of-play rules that call for a runner to be placed on second base to begin each extra frame. It was the team's longest game by total innings since a 2-1 win over Altoona at The Diamond on August 28, 2017.
The Flying Squirrels continue their against the Akron RubberDucks at Canal Park on Friday, Left-hander
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.
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