Fisher Cats hold off Baysox for series finale win

BOWIE, M.D — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, held off the Bowie Baysox by a score of 7-6 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Prince George’s Stadium.

New Hampshire (26-34, 61-67) ended the road trip with a winning record after winning seven of 12 games over the past two weeks.

Trevor Schwecke collected a game-high three hits and drove in the first three runs of the game for New Hampshire with a solo homer in the first and a two-run double in the third. Schwecke finished the series going 12-for-21 (.571) and is batting .424 in the month of September.

In the fourth, Will Robertson and Riley Tirotta went back-to-back with solo homers off Bowie starting right-hander Brandon Young (0-2). Robertson drove in three RBI on the afternoon and finished with four homers and seven RBI in the series. Tirotta is now 13-for-31 (.419) in the month of September.

After Robertson’s sac-fly in the fifth and his RBI single in the seventh, New Hampshire’s lead stood at 7-3 after the top of the seventh.

Bowie (34-29, 65-67) pulled within two on a two-run single by Donta Williams in the bottom of the seventh.

In the bottom of the ninth, Bowie cut New Hampshire’s lead down to one after Greg Cullen drew a fourth consecutive walk in the inning with nobody out.

Right-hander Grayson Thurman entered the game with the bases loaded and nobody out and proceeded to strike out the next two batters and induce a force out to shortstop Michael Turconi to end the game. It’s Thurman’s first Double-A save in only his second Double-A appearance. The 24-year-old signed with the Blue Jays as an undrafted free agent in March and earned promotion from Single-A Dunedin on Thursday.

Right-hander Fitz Stadler (4-0) earned the win after pitching a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts.

The final home stand of the regular season for the Fisher Cats begins on Tuesday, September 12 against the Somerset Patriots at 6:35 pm. Promotions for the week include 2000s Night Thursday, presented by NH Healthy Families and postgame Atlas Fireworks, Copa de la Diversion night Friday, Rock N’ Roll Night Saturday with a mystery bobblehead giveaway, presented by Delta Dental, and Fan Appreciation Day Sunday with Kids Run the Bases Postgame, sponsored by the N-H Liquor Commission Division of Enforcement.

Tickets are available 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.