BINGHAMTON, NY – Coming into Saturday, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats had split their past four doubleheaders. At the end of the day, that number grew to five.
The Fisher Cats began their final weekend of the season in Binghamton by taking one out of two games against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, beginning with a walk-off 6-5 loss.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put New Hampshire on the board first, sending a hanging 2-1 pitch from Binghamton starter Josh Prevost into centerfield. He could only muster a single out of that hit, but it was enough to bring Jonathan Davis home, with Max Pentecost adding another RBI single later in the inning.
The Ponies would tie up the contest in the third, taking a 4-3 lead after sending eight men to the plate in the fourth.
Binghamton held that lead until the sixth when a two-out double from Davis brought Harold Ramirez and Andrew Guillotte across the plate.
New Hampshire needed just one more out to finish off the Ponies in the seventh, but Fisher Cats reliever Kirby Snead would load the bases, finishing with a two-run RBI single from Jeff McNeil.
McNeil has now recorded 21 of his 36 RBI on the season against the Fisher Cats, hitting .370 in 16 appearances against New Hampshire.
Prevost left just prior to the double from Davis, giving up nine hits and three walks while striking out four.
New Hampshire starting pitcher Jordan Romano lasted five innings, giving up two earned runs, eight hits and four walks, echoing Prevost by also striking out four.
Joshua Torres (5-0) got the win for Binghamton while Snead (2-2) was the loser of record.
At the plate, Ramirez led the way for New Hampshire with a 3-for-3 day, followed by two-hit performances submitted by Guillotte and Pentecost. McNeil and Levi Michael had three hits for the Ponies.
In Game 2, New Hampshire bounced back, finishing with a 3-0 win.
That win came largely due to the truncated complete game from New Hampshire’s T.J Zeuch.
Binghamton mustered only three hits off Zeuch: a John Mora single in the second, a single by McNeil in the third and a single by Mora in the seventh.
New Hampshire didn’t do much better, mustering only six hits off Marcos Molina and Daniel Zamora, but those hits came in bunches.
Bo Bichette provided the game’s first run, bringing Davis home on a 2-2 double to centerfield and the other two runs would come in the fourth.
There, Connor Panas singled home Ramirez while Patrick Cantwell’s sacrifice fly brought Juan Kelly across the plate.
Molina (1-5) was the losing pitcher for Binghamton in Game 2, allowing all three runs off five hits in 4 1/3 innings of work, walking five and striking out one.
On Sunday two teams will meet for their fifth doubleheader this season, the final date New Hampshire is scheduled for in Binghamton until 2019.
