Erie Falls to Halpin Walk-Off in Second Straight

The SeaWolves (43-32) fell via walk-off for a second straight night as Akron (44-33) beat Erie 7-6.

Akron opened the scoring in the first against Erie starter Troy Melton. C.J. Kayfus began the inning with a triple and scored on Petey Halpin’s sacrifice fly.

After Erie loaded the bases but did not score in the first against Ducks starter Tommy Mace, they did damage in the second. Singles from Gage Workman and Ben Malgeri opened the frame. Julio Rodriguez then doubled home Workman to tie the game. Austin Murr gave Erie a 2-1 lead with an RBI single. Rodriguez then scored on Carlos Mendoza hit a sacrifice fly. Hao-Yu Lee put the hammer down with a two-run homer, giving Erie a 5-1 lead.

In the third, Akron got a pair of runs back. With two on and two out, Alexfri Planez connected on a two-run double to make it 5-3.

In the fourth, the RubberDucks went ahead. With two runners in scoring position and two out, Kayfus hit the game-tying, two-run single. Later in the frame, Halpin scored him on a single to make it 6-5.

Erie tied the game at six when Trei Cruz began the fifth with a solo homer against Mace.

The game remained tied until the ninth inning. Calvin Coker turned in 2.1 innings of perfect relief for Erie before RJ Petit took over for the ninth. Yordys Valdez hit a one-out single against Petit. He advanced on Kayfus’ fly out. Halpin then drove in the winning run for a second consecutive game with an RBI single.

Bradley Hanner (7-2) earned the win in relief while Petit (3-6) took the loss.

Erie and Akron continue the series at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday.