Hurter Pitches Erie Past Richmond in Game One Win

The SeaWolves shut out Richmond 5-0 in the first round of the Southwest Division Series to take a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-three series.

Both starters, Brant Hurter for Erie and Carson Seymour for Richmond, pitched well to begin the game. Seymour struck out the side in order to begin the game. Hurter allowed consecutive singles by Shane Matheny and Sean Roby to begin the second inning, but a double play grounder helped him through the frame without allowing a run.

After Roby’s single, Richmond did not have a baserunner through the rest of the game. The combination of Hurter, Andrew Magno, and Blake Holub retired 23 consecutive batters to finish the game.

Erie first broke through in the fourth against Seymour by taking advantage of mistakes in the field. With a runner on and one out, Chris Meyers hit a ground ball to short. On an attempt at a force out at second base, Will Wilson committed a throwing error. It placed runners at the corners and one out. Jake Holton singled home the first run.

After Holton’s single, Ben Malgeri singled home Meyers. Shane Matheny, the Richmond center fielder, attempted to throw out Holton at third base but threw the ball away and allowed Holton to score and make it 3-0. Gage Workman later singled on a ground ball that hit the second base bag and scored another run, giving Erie a 4-0 lead.

Erie added an insurance tally in the eighth inning on an RBI triple from Chris Meyers against reliever Spencer Bivens.

With six shutout innings, Hurter earned the win. He struck out six and allowed just two hits and no walks. Seymour lasted 3.1 innings and took the loss.

The series shifts to UPMC Park in Erie at 6:35 p.m. on Thursday. With a win, Erie will face the winner of the series between Binghamton and Somerset. Ty Madden will pitch for Erie and Hayden Birdsong will pitch for Richmond.