AKRON, Ohio – The Richmond Flying Squirrels surrendered seven runs in the eighth inning and lost to the Akron RubberDucks, 10-3, on Saturday night at 7 17 Credit Union Park.
The Flying Squirrels (34-15) had a three-game win streak snapped and had their Southwest Division lead trimmed to 7.5 games over the RubberDucks (27-23) and the Harrisburg Senators with 19 games remaining in the Eastern League’s first half.
In the bottom of the second, Joe Lampe hit a one-out triple and scored on a groundout by Juan Benjamin to give the RubberDucks a 1-0 lead.
The run was the first allowed by Joe Whitman this month, snapping his scoreless streak at 24 innings, which matched a franchise record set by Tyler Rogers in 2016.
Whitman pitched six innings and allowed three runs in his outing, setting a season high with nine strikeouts. For the month of May, Whitman went 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA (3 ER/28.0 IP) and struck out 37 with five walks.
In the fourth, Alfonsin Rosario led off with a double and scored on a single by Alex Mooney, who later came home on a bunt by Joe Lampe to open a 3-0 Akron lead.
The Flying Squirrels cut the deficit to 3-1 in the top of the fifth when Ty Hanchey scored on a fielding error by Benjamin at first.
In the top of the seventh, Diego Velasquez and Hanchey hit back-to-back RBI singles to even the score, 3-3.
Adam Tulloch (Win, 2-0) threw 1.1 scoreless innings out of the Akron bullpen.
In the bottom of the seventh, Nick Mitchell led off with a single against Shane Rademacher (Loss, 0-2). Will Bednar took over and issued a walk and hit a batter to set up a go-ahead, two-run single by Mooney. Akron added to the lead with an RBI single by Lampe, a bases-loaded walk by Cameron Barstad, an error, a groundout and an RBI single by Jose Devers.
The series concludes on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Trystan Vrieling (1-0, 3.63) will start for Richmond opposed by Akron right-hander Justin Campbell (0-1, 1.72). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. in Akron.
The Flying Squirrels return to CarMax Park on Tuesday to begin a 12-game homestand from June 2-14. Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the CarMax Park ticket office.