RICHMOND, Va. – Joe Whitman and a trio of Richmond Flying Squirrels relievers combined to shut out the Akron RubberDucks, 6-0, on Sunday afternoon at CarMax Park.
The Flying Squirrels (25-7) won five-of-six in the series against the RubberDucks (17-16) and improved to 16-2 in home games at CarMax Park.
Whitman (Win, 4-1) threw five scoreless innings and held the RubberDucks to three hits with one walk and a season-high eight strikeouts. Along with Tuesday’s start to open the series, Whitman threw 11 scoreless innings with 15 strikeouts against Akron this week.
Jack Choate followed with two hitless innings, lowering his season ERA to 1.96. Shane Rademacher worked a scoreless eighth before leaving in the ninth with the bases loaded and no outs. Dale Stanavich struck out the first batter he faced before a game-ending double play.
Richmond took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Akron starter Josh Hartle (Loss, 2-2). Scott Bandura led off the inning with a walk and later scored after a pair of Akron errors.
In the bottom of the sixth, Jonah Cox hit a two-run triple before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Bandura to extend the lead to 4-0.
Adrian Sugastey belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, his second home run this season, for a 6-0 Richmond lead.
The Flying Squirrels hit the road for a six-game series against the Erie SeaWolves beginning Tuesday night. Right-hander Trystan Vrieling (0-0, 4.00) will start. 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.