ERIE, Pa. – The Richmond Flying Squirrels dropped their first game of the road trip, 14-7, against the Erie SeaWolves on Thursday night at UPMC Park.
The Flying Squirrels (27-8) rallied for five runs over the last two innings but could not climb out of the early deficit.
With runners at first and third in the second inning, Diego Velasquez put down a sacrifice bunt to bring home Charlie Szykowny from third and gave Richmond a 1-0 lead.
The SeaWolves (18-18) responded with five runs in the bottom of the second. Brett Callahan put the SeaWolves ahead, 2-1, with a two-run single. A wild pitch, bases-loaded walk and a groundout brought home three more runs to push the Erie lead to 5-1.
Izaac Pacheco padded the SeaWolves' advantage to 7-1 with a two-run single in the fourth.
Zane Zielinski bashed a solo home run against Erie starter Joe Miller (Win, 1-1) in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 7-2. It was Zielinski's first hit with the Flying Squirrels in his Double-A debut.
The SeaWolves extended rallied for two runs in the fifth and Thayron Liranzo launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to move the Erie lead to 12-2.
The Flying Squirrels struck for three runs in the top of the eighth, moving the score to 12-5. Jonah Cox bashed an RBI triple and later scored on a groundout by Parks Harber. Velasquez notched an RBI single to cap the rally.
Erie answered with two runs in the bottom of the eighth.
With two outs and a runner at first in the ninth, Harber belted a two-run homer to right-center, closing the score to 14-7. It was the second consecutive day with a home run for Harber and he extended his hit streak to 10 straight games.
Richmond starter Darien Smith (Loss, 4-1) exited after two innings, allowing a season-high five runs.
The series continues on Friday night. Left-hander Cesar Perdomo (2-0, 3.81) will make the start for the Flying Squirrels. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at UPMC Park.
Following the road trip, the Flying Squirrels return to CarMax Park from May 19- 24 to face the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets. Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the CarMax Park ticket office.