Hunter Goodman and Colin Simpson Homer in Yard Goats Loss

Final: Somerset 9, Hartford 3

WP- Richard Fitts (6-5)

LP- Andrew Quezada (1-5)

T- 2:40

Hartford, CT- Hunter Goodman and Colin Simpson each homered in front of the largest sellout crowd (7,556) in Dunkin’ Park history, but the Yard Goats fell to the Somerset Patriots 9-3 on Saturday night in Hartford. Kyle Datres stayed hot at the plate, as he extended his league leading hit streak to 13 games with a single in the fifth inning.

Somerset jumped on the Yard Goats early, scoring three runs in the first frame. Trey Sweeney drew a leadoff walk before Hartford starter Andrew Quezada got Willie Calhoun to pop out to the catcher for the first out. The next batter, Jasson Dominguez, singled to center field to set up T.J. Rumfield, who hit an opposite field three-run home run over the tall wall in right field to give the Patriots a 3-0 advantage after half an inning.

The Yard Goats quickly responded in the bottom of the first inning thanks to Hunter Goodman, who continued to swing a hot bat in this series. With two outs and no one on base, Goodman ripped a 407-foot blast over the left center field wall, which came off the bat at a blistering 113 miles per hour. Heading into the second inning, Hartford trailed 3-1.

With the momentum now shifting the Yard Goats way, the Patriots got a run right back in the fourth inning. In just his third game at the Double-A level, Ben Rice stepped up to the dish and delivered a leadoff solo home run for Somerset, making it a 4-1 advantage for the Patriots after four frames.

The Patriots continued to apply pressure and display their power in the fifth inning with a pair of home runs. Sweeney singled to open up the inning, and five pitches later, Calhoun homered to right center field. After the next two Somerset batters struck out, Rice hit his second solo home run in two innings to give the Patriots a 7-1 lead.

Somerset’s impressive offensive performance endured in the seventh frame. Sweeney drew a walk to begin the inning, and two batters later, Dominguez reached first base safely after a fielding error by the Yard Goats, allowing Sweeney to advance to third base. Then, with two outs in the inning, Rice came through again for the Patriots, delivering an RBI double to the right field wall to drive in Sweeney and make it a 8-1 lead for Somerset heading into the seventh inning stretch.

Trying to manifest a rally, the Yard Goats got two runs back in the seventh inning. Warming Bernabel singled through the left side of the infield before Colin Simpson hammered a two-run missile into the second deck in right field to trim Somerset’s lead to 8-3 after seven innings.

In the ninth frame, Somerset extended their lead. Rumfield dribbled a ball through the right side and into right field for a lead off single. He advanced to third base after two wild pitches were thrown to Rice, and later in the at-bat, Rice came through for the Patriots by singling to center and making it a 9-3 ballgame heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The Yard Goats and Somerset Patriots play the last game of a six-game series on Sunday afternoon (1:10 PM) at Dunkin’ Park. Nick Garcia will start for the Yard Goats searching for his third win of the season. Meanwhile, Matt Sauer will start for the Patriots. Tomorrow’s game will be broadcast on AM 1410, FM 100.9 and on the iheart radio app.