Squirrels topple Fightins, 6-2, Saturday night

RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Reading Fightin Phils, 6-2, on Saturday night at CarMax Park.

The Flying Squirrels (63-42, 20-17 second half) picked up their third win in five games against the Fightin Phils (52-55, 22-16) this week.

Carson DeMartini gave Reading a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the top of the second.

Jose Astudillo picks up right where he left off and we’re on the board 👏

That’s 4️⃣ RBIs for Astudillo in his first two games! pic.twitter.com/SjMHzmELH4

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) August 8, 2026

In the bottom of the second, Jose Astudillo hit an RBI single to even the score, 1-1. Later in the inning,

Ty Hanchey drove in Maui Ahuna with a single to give the Flying Squirrels a 2-1 lead.

ˢᵐᵃˡˡ ᵇᵃˡˡ 🤏 pic.twitter.com/tbhkpAZr5y

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) August 9, 2026

After back-to-back one-out singles in the bottom of the fourth, Jean Carlos Sió brought home a run with a sacrifice bunt. Later in the inning,

Nice goin’ Trevor Cohen 💪

TC leaves the yard for the second time in Double-A! pic.twitter.com/G82V3ReRB1

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) August 9, 2026

Trevor Cohen hit a two-run homer to extend the Flying Squirrels’ lead to 5-1 against Fightin Phils starter Braydon Tucker (Loss, 7-7).

Reading’s Aroon Escobar drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to close the score to 5-2 in the top of the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ahuna doubled and later scored on a wild pitch to open a 6-2 Flying Squirrels lead.

Tyler Switalski (Win, 1-3) worked around six hits and four walks to hold the Fightin Phils to two runs over five innings.

Marques Johnson struck out four across the sixth and seventh. Ryan Vanderhei struck out three in the eighth and ninth to finish the game.

The homestand concludes on Sunday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. at CarMax Park.

Sunday is Virginia Tribal Heritage Night as the Flying Squirrels heritage of Virginia's tribes and Indigenous peoples. The event will feature pregame performances and presentations by the Lone Eagle Singers and Virginia Tribal Dancers. Fans can also get autographs from Flying Squirrels players as part of Signature Sunday from 3:45-4:15 p.m. in The Backstop and stick around after the game for Catch on the Field.

Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the CarMax Park ticket office. Tickets for the Flying Squirrels’ home playoff games at CarMax Park on sale now at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Playoffs.