BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – A seven-run first inning proved to be the difference on Thursday as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats defeated the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, 9-5.
New Hampshire began that rally with four straight singles, with ten men eventually coming to the plate. During the rally, Zac Cook was hit by a pitch for the 18th time so far this year, tying a Fisher Cats franchise record.
Spencer Horwitz added an RBI single in the third that brought Rafael Lantigua across the plate for New Hampshire’s eighth run and Chris Bec added an RBI single in the fourth that brought Cook home for the Fisher Cats’ final run.
At the plate, New Hampshire finished with 13 hits, with Bec, Horwitz, Lantigua and Sebastian Espino finishing with two each as every Fisher Cats batter had at least one hit by the end of the contest. Both of Espino’s hits were doubles, putting him at ten for the year so far, and Cam Eden hit his second home run of the year during the first-inning rally.
Paxton Schultz didn’t last long enough to earn the win for New Hampshire in his start, leaving after 85 pitches and just four innings. Schultz allowed all five Binghamton runs off five hits and five walks, striking out six batters.
New Hampshire relievers Gabriel Pince and Parker Caracci combined to allow just one more hit over the rest of the contest, with Ponce (1-2), getting the win for his three innings of work.
The Fisher Cats are now 25-28 on the season and they’ll seek to improve on that record on Friday with a 7:05 p.m. tilt against the Rumble Ponies. Hayden Juenger (0-2, 3.78 ERA) is the expected starter for the ‘Cats.
