April 12: Wilson's homer downs Ducks in Richmond, 3-2
April 12, 2024 RubberDucks Game Recap | Box Score Richmond Flying Squirrels (3-4) 3, Akron RubberDucks (4-3) 2 WP: Nick Swiney (1-0) LP: Jack Leftwich (0-1) Save: Tanner Kiest (1) Summary Akron catcher Kody Huff hit his first Double-A home run, and RubberDucks right-hander Tommy Mace began with five shutout
April 12, 2024 RubberDucks Game Recap | Box Score
Richmond Flying Squirrels (3-4) 3, Akron RubberDucks (4-3) 2
WP: Nick Swiney (1-0) LP: Jack Leftwich (0-1) Save: Tanner Kiest (1)
Summary
Akron catcher Kody Huff hit his first Double-A home run, and RubberDucks right-hander Tommy Mace began with five shutout innings, but Richmond shortstop Will Wilson hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning that lifted the Flying Squirrels to a 3-2 victory at The Diamond Friday night, evening the series at two wins apiece.
The first @Kodyhuff2 home run as a RubberDuck doubles the lead!
— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) April 12, 2024
104 mph 🚀 370 feet
TOP 2 | Akron 2 | Richmond 0 pic.twitter.com/3CHwgEiYsp
Turning Point
With a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, Mace allowed a leadoff single to second baseman Damon Dues and walked center fielder Grant McCray. Right-hander Jack Leftwich entered, and Wilson hit his first home run of the season to left field, giving Richmond its first lead at 3-2.
Mound Presence
Mace set down the first 10 batters of the game – including four strikeouts – before a fourth-inning walk and worked around the first Richmond hit in the fifth. He allowed the two earned runs on two hits and two walks in five innings. After the Wilson home run, Leftwich retired the next three batters, including two strikeouts. Right-hander Davis Sharpe pitched two scoreless innings, working around three walks with four strikeouts.
Duck Tales
Akron scored quickly in the first inning, with center fielder Chase DeLauter hitting a one-out single to second base, advancing on a walk by first baseman Aaron Bracho and scoring on a single to right-center field by third baseman Dayan Frías. Huff drilled a 370-foot home run to left field with two outs in the second inning off right-hander Ryan Murphy. Huff later added a single in the seventh – the only Akron hit after the second inning. Akron had consecutive two-out walks in the ninth inning against right-hander Tanner Kiest, before first baseman Logan Wyatt caught DeLauter’s 111-mile-per-hour line drive for the game’s final out.
After a day of rest @FriasDayan keeps driving in runs
— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) April 12, 2024
TOP 1 | Akron 1 | Richmond 0 pic.twitter.com/rggmomLAux
Notebook
Designated hitter Petey Halpin extended his six-game hitting streak to begin the season…Halpin leads the Eastern League in on-base percentage (.536) and is tied for the lead with five runs scored, and is second in batting average (.435), OPS (1.232) and hits (10)…Akron is 2-3 in one-run games, which have been five of the first seven this season…Game Time: 2:27…Attendance: 7,298.
On the Pond
The RubberDucks continue their series in Richmond at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at The Diamond. Akron left-hander Rodney Boone (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is scheduled to face Flying Squirrels right-hander Matt Frisbee (0-0, 0.00 ERA). The game broadcast is on 640 WHLO, the 640 WHLO iHeartRadio channel, and akronrubberducks.com, and available on Bally Live. Tickets for RubberDucks home games are available at akronrubberducks.com/tickets.