The New Hampshire Fisher Cats leave Pennsylvania’s capital after a pitchers’ duel on Thursday. They also leave with a 1-0 loss.
New Hampshire’s bid for a sweep of the Harrisburg Senators fell on one swing of the bat, a first pitch wallop from Isaac Ballou in the bottom of the field that cleared the right field fence, giving the Senators all the offense they would need.
Ballou’s home run was one of only two hits allowed by New Hampshire pitchers during the contest, with the other one obtained by Drew Ward in the fourth.
New Hampshire starting pitcher Shane Dawson (1-6) retired the first seven Harrisburg batters he faced, with only five Senators reaching base during his five innings of work.
Still, he got credit for the loss thanks to Ballou’s shot, gathering five strikeouts before his departure.
Those baserunners would be the last ones for Harrisburg, with Justin Shafer and John Stilson recording three straight 1-2-3 innings to conclude the contest.
Despite Harrisburg’s woes at the plate, the Fisher Cats were not much better. They would end the day with just five hits, two coming from Tim Lopes. And two coming from Wednesday hero Richard Urena.
On both of his hits, Urena saw himself stranded, reaching on a triple in the first and a double in the fourth. New Hampshire squandered seven more opportunities with runners in scoring position before the final out.
Harrisburg starter Jaron Long (5-4) scattered all five of those hits in a masterful performance, striking out three and walking three on course for the win.
As was the case with New Hampshire’s bullpen, Harrisburg’s relievers did not allow a base runner. Erick Fedde pitched a perfect eighth to earn his second hold of the season and Wander Suero had a perfect ninth to get his tenth save of the year.
The Fisher Cats now travel to Hartford where they pit Chris Rowley (2-1, 1.75 ERA) against Yard Goats starter Ryan Castellani (4-4, 5.24 ERA).