Big inning costs New Hampshire in loss to Akron

Akron, Ohio – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats fought back from an early hole to tie the game, but a big sixth inning for Akron made the difference on Saturday night. New Hampshire (18-25) lost, 9-7, to the Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland Guardians, 27-17) for their fourth defeat in five games. The loss cemented the series win for Akron.

LJ Talley tagged a solo homer to right-center field to put New Hampshire on the board and cut the early deficit to 3-1 in the top of the fifth. The blast was Talley’s second solo homer in as many days and his third extra-base hit of the week.

New Hampshire scored two more in the sixth to tie the game, as Tanner Morris and Orelvis Martinez hit back-to-back singles. Morris finished 3-for-4 with a run scored. He now has reached base in 12 straight games and in 33 of his 37 games played this year.

Starter Adam Kloffenstein worked three scoreless innings before allowing three in the bottom of the fourth. He finished with 3.2 innings of work, walked two and struck out four. All of Kloffenstein’s earned runs at Double-A have come in the last inning of each his appearances.

The bottom of the sixth inning proved to be the Fisher Cats’ unraveling. Akron scored six on five hits, and two batters walked as well.

Luis De Los Santos scored on a Will Robertson groundout in the seventh, and New Hampshire had a three-run ninth, capped off by a Robertson two-run homer. He finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs. The late comeback was not enough, as the Fisher Cats lost by two.

The game also featured a benches-clearing incident in the top of the eighth. The team’s two managers, Cesar Martin and Rouglas Odor, argued on the third base side before the inning started, and both dugouts cleared. There was no physical fighting, and both managers were ejected.

Tomorrow, the Fisher Cats conclude their six-game set at Akron with first pitch at 6:05 p.m.

New Hampshire returns home on Tuesday, May 31 versus the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox). 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.