Yard Goats 7, Fisher Cats 5
- Updated: June 28, 2024
HARTFORD, Conn. — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (1-2, 31-40) fell to the Hartford Yard Goats (2-1, 40-31) at Dunkin’ Park Thursday night, 7-5.
New Hampshire erased a 4-0 deficit to tie the game at 4-4, but the Yard Goats plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win their second straight game over the Fisher Cats.
Hartford’s Juan Mejia (W, 1-1) struck out two batters and dealt two scoreless innings of relief. Fisher Cats reliever Hunter Gregory (L, 4-2) struck a batter out in one inning and allowed three hits before exiting in his second inning of work.
New Hampshire starter CJ Van Eyk allowed three earned runs on five hits in his first two innings. After loading the bases with a pair of walks and a hit batter, Van Eyk ended his outing by retiring his final nine batters faced, which included striking out the side in the fifth inning.
The first Fisher Cats first hit off Hartford starter Mason Albright came in the top of the third inning by second baseman Ryan McCarty, who hit a home run in the previous two games in Hartford. Since his first game with New Hampshire on June 4, McCarty has hit six home runs and is 20-for-69 with 13 RBI. Of McCarty’s 20 hits, 11 are for extra-bases. Albright gave up a pair of runs in five innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
McCarty’s home run cut Hartford’s lead in half to 4-2 in the top of the third. The Fisher Cats tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. McCarty and shortstop Josh Kasevich led off the inning with consecutive singles on new Yard Goats pitcher Alec Barger. Third baseman Alex De Jesus bounced in McCarty from third, and Kasevich came around to tie the game at 4-4 on a dropped fly ball in right field by Yanquiel Fernandez with two outs.
Fernandez rectified his defensive mishap with a two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh to give Hartford a 6-4 lead. Yard Goats third baseman Warming Bernabel plated Fernandez with an RBI single to move the lead to 7-4 in the seventh.
Trailing by three runs in the top of the ninth, Devonte Brown began the inning with a leadoff walk against Hartford’s Seth Halvorsen. After New Hampshire recorded two outs, catcher Kekai Rios walked to bring the game’s tying run to the plate. McCarty produced his third hit and third RBI of the game with a right-field single and move the score to 7-5. Halvorsen (S, 7) got Kasevich down on strikes for the game’s final out.
New Hampshire finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position to Hartford’s 5-for-15.
The six-game series between Hartford and New Hampshire crosses the halfway point on Friday with a 7:10 p.m. first pitch. New Hampshire’s Trenton Wallace (3-2, 2.81 ERA) opposes Hartford’s Connor Van Scoyoc (5-5, 5.17 ERA) in game four of six to be played in Hartford before a three-game series in Portland from July 1-3.
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