Squirrels unable to climb out of early hole in 9-1 loss

RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Flying Squirrels faced an early deficit and fell, 9-1, to the Erie SeaWolves Thursday night at The Diamond.

The Flying Squirrels (21-26) have dropped three straight against the SeaWolves (27-21) and have lost seven consecutive games.

On the first pitch of the ballgame, Trei Cruz punched a solo home run against Richmond starter Nick Zwack (Loss, 1-3) and moved Erie to a 1-0 lead.

The SeaWolves pushed ahead, 2-0, in the top of the second inning when Diego Rincones lined an RBI single to center field.

Erie increased its lead to 7-0 with a five-run top of the third. Jake Holton drove in the first run of the frame with a single and Andrew Navigato moved the SeaWolves to a four-run lead with an RBI double. With two runners on and one out, Rincones reached on a Richmond fielding error and plated both baserunners.

Luis Santana capped the scoring in the third with an RBI single to boost Erie’s advantage to 7-0.

The SeaWolves starter Keider Montero (Win, 3-1) held Richmond to two hits and two walks over six scoreless innings while striking out a career-high nine batters.

After back-to-back singles to start the seventh inning, Jimmy Glowenke broke the shutout with an RBI single and closed the score to 7-1. It marked Glowenke’s first Double-A hit and RBI.

✅ First Double-A hit for Jimmy Glowenke brings in a run pic.twitter.com/SlQigSvy0F

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) June 2, 2023

The SeaWolves upped their advantage to 9-1 in the ninth inning off a two-RBI single from Holton, gaining his second hit of the night.

Simon Whiteman drove a one-out double to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Flying Squirrels went down with two flyouts to close out the ballgame.

Richmond reliever Parker Dunshee notched a season-high four strikeouts over 2.2 innings of work. Randy Rodriguez put together 2.2 scoreless innings while holding the SeaWolves to one baserunner and fired in three strikeouts.

The Flying Squirrels will take on the SeaWolves Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at The Diamond. Right-hander Mason Black (0-4, 5.79) will make the start for Richmond opposed by Erie right-hander Ty Madden (0-1, 3.38).

On Friday, the Flying Squirrels will host Girl Scout Night presented by Richmond Times-Dispatch. Girl Scout Troops from all over the area will take the field for a pre-game parade & earn a Flying Squirrels scout patch. In addition, the Squirrels cheer on women & girls' achievements on and off the field. The game will also feature Funnville Friday Happy Hour with two-dollar 12-ounce domestic beers at all concession stands and two-dollar fountain sodas a the Pepsi Fountain from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.