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MANCHESTER, NH – On Tuesday, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats tied the game three times against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, narrowly missing their chance to tie it a fourth time.
Given the current state of their offense, they probably would have come back again on Wednesday if Binghamton ever got a lead.
New Hampshire defeated Binghamton 5-4 in Wednesday’s rematch, getting a double-digit hit performance for the sixth time in their first 11 games.
Harold Ramirez got the ‘Cats on the board in the second, bringing Lourdes Gurriel Jr. home, followed by another run in the third off Binghamton starting pitcher Joseph Shaw.
Binghamton finally erased New Hampshire’s lead in the sixth, beginning the inning with three straight hits. That would chase New Hampshire starting pitcher Francisco Rios, but it would only be enough to tie the contest.
That tie was short-lived, as the Fisher Cats responded in the bottom of the inning, sending eight men to the plate before all was said and done.
Shaw would leave two outs into the sixth after deflecting a hit smashed by Fisher Cats first baseman Juan Kelly, with reliever Johnny Magliozzi following Kelly’s hit by hitting Ramirez to load the bases.
Andrew Guillotte walked home the go-ahead run in the next at-bat, followed immediately by Gunnar Heidt’s two-run single after that.
That would be all New Hampshire would need, but the Rumble Ponies would not go quietly, grabbing two runs in the ninth.
But Craig Breslow would shut finally shut the door, striking out Matt Oberste on three straight pitches to earn his first save as a Fisher Cat.
Rios would be left out of the decision, allowing five hits and striking out three in his 72 pitch performance, with Dusty Issacs (1-0) earning the win and a blown save for his efforts in the sixth.
Shaw (0-2) was the loser of record, allowing three earned runs off seven hits.
The two teams combined for 21 hits, with John Mora, Patrick Mazeika and Andrew Ely grabbing two hits each for the Rumble Ponies. Every member of the New Hampshire lineup had at least one hit except for Bo Bichette, with Johnathan Davis, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Patrick Cantwell ending the night with two hits apiece.
Guerrero also added a double and was hit by a pitch by Shaw in the sixth.
The series concludes at 10:35 a.m. on Thursday for Manchester Schools Day. Jordan Romano (1-0, 1.50 ERA) takes the mound for New Hampshire against Binghamton’s Andrew Church (0-1, 6.48).
