Squirrels drop Game 1 of ELDS, 18-6, against SeaWolves

ERIE, Pa. – A pair of early lopsided innings buried the Richmond Flying Squirrels in an 18-6 loss to the Erie SeaWolves in Game 1 of the Eastern League Southwest Division Series at UPMC Park Tuesday night.

The Flying Squirrels (0-1) collected 15 hits against SeaWolves (1-0) pitching but fell in the first game of the postseason.

Gavin Kilen rocketed a two-out triple in the top of the first inning and scored on an RBI single by Sabin Ceballos to give Richmond a 1-0 lead.

Out to a quick lead in Game 1! pic.twitter.com/ms3kk8JKbr

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) September 15, 2026

The SeaWolves responded with eight runs in the bottom of the first, gaining an 8-1 lead. After a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded to tie the score, Luke Shilger blasted a grand slam against Miguel Mendez (Loss, 0-1) to push Erie ahead, 5-1. A Richmond error led to another SeaWolves run, and a two-run homer by Peyton Graham capped the eight-run inning.

Erie gathered four runs in the bottom of the second inning to up the advantage to 12-1.

The Flying Squirrels rallied for four straight hits in the fifth inning, including RBI singles by Dayson Croes and Kilen, moving the score to 12-3.

Got a pair back with singles from Dayson Croes and Gavin Kilen in the fifth pic.twitter.com/efndaEvd9p

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) September 16, 2026

Jancel Villarroel cut the deficit to 12-4 in the sixth inning with an RBI groundout.

The SeaWolves widened their lead to 17-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Shliger struck for his second grand slam of the night in the sixth inning and Graham brought home a run with a groundout.

Graham hit an RBI groundout in the eighth inning to move the SeaWolves lead to 18-4.

The Flying Squirrels rallied for three hits and two runs in the ninth inning. Trevor Cohen crushed a solo home run and Ceballos closed the score to 18-6 with an RBI groundout.

Cohen clears the deck 💣 pic.twitter.com/HRHGirSOaX

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) September 16, 2026

Game 2 of the Southwest Division Series between Richmond and Erie will be at CarMax Park Thursday night with first pitch slated for 6:45 p.m. Right-hander Jackson Flora will make his Flying Squirrels debut opposed by Erie right-hander Kenny Serwa.

Tickets for the Flying Squirrels’ home playoff games at CarMax Park are on sale now at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Playoffs.