Moreno, Timely Hits Lead Ponies to Win Over Squirrels

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (20-22) defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-2 on Friday night at Mirabito Stadium, led by a strong start from Luis Moreno and big hits from Jose Peroza and Luke Ritter.

The Rumble Ponies took an early 2-0 lead three batters into the bottom of the first against former New York Mets prospect Nick Zwack. Matt Rudick was hit by a pitch and Rowdey Jordan reached on a walk. Peroza followed them with a two-run triple.

Luis Moreno (3-1) allowed just two runs in his strong outing, as Richmond (21-21) scored on sacrifice flies from Carter Williams in the second and Brady Whalen in the third to tie the game at 2-2.

Moreno tied his season high with six innings pitched and set a new Double-A career high with seven strikeouts. He retired nine batters in a row from the third inning through the fifth.

With the game tied 2-2 in the third, Peroza hit a one-out single. Brandon McIlwain followed with a double, which extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The next batter was Luke Ritter and he smacked a three-run homer to the opposite field to give Binghamton a 5-2 lead. It was Ritter’s fourth home run of the season.

The Ponies added two more runs in the seventh on RBI singles from Jordan and McIlwain to make it 7-2.

Justin Courtney threw a perfect inning in relief in the seventh and Hunter Parsons threw two perfect frames in the eighth and ninth to cement the win for Binghamton.

The Rumble Ponies will continue their series with the Flying Squirrels on Saturday night. First pitch is set for 6:07 PM on the WNBF Rumble Ponies Radio Network.

Postgame Notes: McIlwain’s 10-game hitting streak is the second by a Rumble Ponies hitter this season, as Rudick had an 11-game hitting streak…Rudick reached base twice and scored both times…Joe Suozzi hit a double in the second and has reached base in his first three games at the Double-A level.