MANCHESTER, N.H. – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats mustered just one hit on Monday night, falling to the Reading Fightin’ Phils, 2-0.
That hit came in the form of a Joshua Palacios third inning double that proved to be little more than a speed bump to Reading’s four hurlers on the night.
New Hampshire’s pitching didn’t quite meet that standard, but still performed admirably, allowing just four Reading hits.
Three came off starter Andrew Sopko, who allowed the first run in the fourth off Ali Castillo’s triple, which brought in Austin Listi.
Castillo was involed in the game’s other run in the sixth, reaching base on a fielding error while Listi scored again.
Sopko pitched five innings in the loss, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out four.
The win went to Luke Leftwich for his two innings of perfect relief.
Both teams meet again on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. Patrick Murphy (0-1, 4.50 ERA) takes the mound for New Hampshire against Reading’s Tom Eshelman, with Eshelman making his first appearance of the year.
