ERIE, PA - A pitcher's duel turned into a late-night back-and-forth affair on Tuesday night at UPMC Park as the Erie SeaWolves (11-2, 47-34) fell short in a 4-3 contest to open the week-long set with the Harrisburg Senators (7-4, 41-39).
SeaWolves starter Max Alba was tested early on. The right-hander retired the first two batters he faced before issuing two walks and allowing a single to load the bases. Alba struck out Cortland Lawson swinging to escape the opening frame without allowing a run. The right-hander pitched four scoreless innings to set the tone for Erie.
Senators starter Alex Clemmey was equally effective. The left-hander set down the first six Erie batters. Despite being held hitless through the first two frames, Erie cracked the scoreboard first. Clemmey walked two and hit one batter to load the bases with no one out in the third. After Seth Stephenson popped up on the infield, Peyton Graham lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate the opening run.
The Howlers held that 1-0 advantage into the seventh inning when Eric Silva entered out of the bullpen. After retiring the first two batters he faced, Leandro Pineda blasted a solo home run over the right-field wall to even the score.
Erie struck right back in the bottom of the seventh as Andrew Jenkins led off with a double before Max Burt singled to move him to third. Newcomer Patrick Lee followed with an RBI groundout to put the SeaWolves back in front.
Harrisburg answered again in the eighth. Branden Boissiere knocked a two-run double to give the Senators their first lead of the night, but Garrett Pennington responded with an RBI double in the bottom half to tie the game at 3.
TJ White delivered the final blow in the ninth, launching a solo home run to put Harrisburg back in front. Erie could not muster a baserunner in the bottom of the ninth and dropped the series opener by a run.
The loss snaps the SeaWolves nine-game win streak, which is tied for the second-longest in franchise history. It marked the second nine-game streak of the season for Erie. The SeaWolves are back in action on Wednesday at UPMC Park at 12:35 PM for game two of the six-game set. Knuckleballer Kenny Serwa gets the start for Erie against Harrisburg's Isaac Lyon.
Single-game tickets, suites, picnics, The Club by Synchrony events, and Bud Light Party Deck groups are now available by visiting SeaWolves.com, calling 814-456-1300, or visiting the UPMC Park Box Office in person.