Fightins and Sea Dogs Wrap Up Most of Doubleheader

(Reading, PA) - With two seven-inning games on the schedule Tuesday for the Fightin Phils and Sea Dogs, at least 14 innings needed to be played. And with bad weather approaching later in the evening, the quicker the games the better. 7,081 fans made their way out to FirstEnergy Stadium to take in the twin bill, and watched the Sea Dogs win game one no problem 8-4. Game two appeared to be headed that way too, but the Fightins came back with an improbable rally, scoring seven times in the top of the sixth to force extras. And after Cord Sandberg gave them their first lead with a two-run homer in the ninth, tornado winds and rain arrived, suspending the last three outs until Wednesday morning.  
In game one, Portland sent seven to the plate in the top of the first against major league rehabber Jerad Eickhoff , who surrendered a sacrifice fly to Tate Matheny and an RBI double to Luke Tendler for a 2-0 lead. The Fightins only lead in the game came on a Deivi Grullon three-run homer in the bottom of the second off lefthander Matt Kent, who was going for his second straight win in a doubleheader after winning last Thursday against the Rumble Ponies.
During his final inning in the fourth, Eickhoff got the first out but left after letting up a game-tying home run to Austin Rei . At 3-3, Ranfi Casimiro entered after being brought back from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and put the next five hitters on base. In the frame, the Sea Dogs got RBI base hits from Jeremy Rivera and Tony Renda , and Jantzen Witte piled on with a two-run double to complete the five run inning for a 7-3 lead.
Brandon Bednar brought in the Fightin Phils final run with his first homer off Kent with one out in the home fifth. In the seventh, Witte brought in his third run with a leadoff home run off Tim Berry , pushing the lead back to four at 8-4. The Fightins rattled Kent's (2-1) cage with three straight singles in the seventh, but couldn't do anything with the tying run at the plate against Trevor Kelley , who sidearmed his way to his fourth save and an 8-4 Sea Dogs win to snap a four-game losing streak.
* Note: The second game of the doubleheader was suspended in the middle of the ninth inning with the Fightin Phils leading 9-7. That game will be completed at 11:45 AM on Wednesday, and the regularly scheduled 9-inning finale of the series will follow the completion of the suspended game.
America's Classic Ballpark is proud to be a part of Pennsylvania's Americana Region. Season tickets for the 2018 season are available online at Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, and in-person at FirstEnergy Stadium. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter at @ReadingFightins and like them on Facebook via www.facebook.com/fightins.