Big Bats, No-Hit Starter Power Fisher Cats Win
Manchester, New Hampshire – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (3-1) blasted three home runs and tallied 10 total hits in their home opener on Tuesday en route to an 11-4 win over the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies, 2-2). Orelvis Martinez and Sebastian Espino each went 3-4 at the plate,
Manchester, New Hampshire – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (3-1) blasted three home runs and tallied 10 total hits in their home opener on Tuesday en route to an 11-4 win over the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies, 2-2).
Orelvis Martinez and Sebastian Espino each went 3-4 at the plate, each with a single, double and home run. One pitch after a Rafael Lantigua RBI double in the first inning, Martinez hit a two-run blast to center field to put New Hampshire up, 3-0.
In the fourth, Espino and Phil Clarke hit back-to-back singles off Hartford starter Noah Davis. Clarke’s line drive into right field scored a run and set up Steward Berroa with runners on first and second. Berroa, who was previously hitless in Double-A, then hammered a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall and made the score 7-0 Fisher Cats.
The fifth inning brought more of the same. Martinez and Spencer Horwitz singled in back-to-back at bats, and Espino hit a three-run bomb to clear the bases. The Fisher Cats led, 10-2, after five innings and did not leave a runner on base until the seventh inning.
On the mound, New Hampshire starter Max Castillo went four innings, allowing no runs on no hits. He walked four and struck out seven. After walking the bases loaded in the third, Castillo delivered a crucial punch out to Yard Goats cleanup man Willie MacIver to end the inning. MacIver came into the game hitting .417 but struck out his first three times at the plate.
The Fisher Cats added another run to go up, 11-2, in the seventh inning when Espino hit a double to right field to score Martinez. Espino finished with four RBIs.
Marcus Reyes (W, 1-0) earned the victory in two innings of relief, and Parker Caracci worked out of a bases-loaded jam without allowing a run in the seventh. He would allow two Hartford runs in the eighth to make the score 11-4, where it would stay. Cre Finfrock finished out the game with 1.1 scoreless innings—his second-straight shutout appearance.
The Fisher Cats continue their six-game homestand on Wednesday, April 13 at 6:35 p.m. with another matchup against the Hartford Yard Goats. The homestand includes another Atlas Fireworks show (April 16), 90s night and Kids Run the Bases sponsored by New Hampshire State Liquor Commission. Tickets can be found at NHFisherCats.com, via email at [email protected], over the phone at (603) 641-2005, or in-person at the Fisher Cats box office at 1 Line Drive in Manchester.