Yard Goats Drop Road Trip Finale 7-6

*Final: Somerset 7, Hartford 6 *

WP- Jesus Liranzo (3-1)

LP- Juan Mejia (1-1)

S- Bailey Deeds (1)

T- 2:44

Bridgewater, NJ- The Somerset Patriots scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning to come back and beat the Hartford Yard Goats 7-6 on Sunday afternoon at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Somerset took advantage of two errors in their final at-bat to defeat Hartford for the fifth time in six games, and send the Yard Goats to a fourth straight loss. Bladimir Restituyo had a double and drove in three runs for Hartford. The Yard Goats return to Dunkin’ Park on Tuesday (7:10 PM vs Richmond) to begin a 13-game homestand over the next two weeks.

Somerset took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Grant Richardson cranked a two-run homer off Yard Goats starter Case Williams. The Yankees affiliate made it 3-0 in the third inning on Ben Rice’s solo homer, his fifth in ten games against Hartford this season.

The Yard Goats tied the game with three runs in the fifth inning off Patriots starter Blane Abeyta. Bladimir Restituyo cracked a two-run double, and later scored on a throwing error. Somerset took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth on a double play grounder by Elijiah Dunham, scoring Caleb Durbin.

Hartford took a 6-4 lead with three runs in the sixth inning and knocked Abeyta out of the game. The Yard Goats loaded the bases with nobody out on two singles and a walk. Warming Bernabel tied the game with a sacrifice fly and the Yard Goats took a 5-4 lead when Kyle Datres was hit by a pitch. Hartford made it 6-4 on a grounder by Bladimir Restituyo.

Somerset got a run in the seventh inning on an RBI double by Agustin Ramirez to make it 6-5. The Patriots scored twice on two errors in the eighth inning to take a 7-6 lead. Bailey Deeds came in to get the final out with a runner at third base in the ninth inning.

The Yard Goats open a 13-game homestand on Tuesday evening (7:10 PM) against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants affiliate). RHP Mike Ruff will start for the Yard Goats and RHP Hayden Birdsong will pitch for the Flying Squirrels. The game will be broadcast on AM 1410, FM 100.9 and on the iheart radio app.