Fisher Cats 6, SeaWolves 5

ERIE, Pa. – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (19-28, 53-60) opened their six-game series at UPMC Park with a thrilling 11-inning victory on Tuesday against the Erie SeaWolves (31-15, 67-47), 6-5. The SeaWolves forced extra-innings with runs in the eighth and ninth, but center fielder Victor Arias’s go-ahead RBI triple in the 11th propelled the Cats to the win.

Box Score

Toronto’s No. 2 prospect Nolan Perry allowed two runs on four hits across four frames. Lefty Mason Olson tossed three shutout innings out of the bullpen. Reliever Gage Stanifer allowed a run in the eighth but stranded a pair of runners on base. Yondrei Rojas (W, 5-4) fired two innings and allowed two runs, while Kelena Sauer (SV, 1) secured the final three outs and picked up his first save.

New Hampshire tagged SeaWolves starter Joe Miller for four runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. Yosber Sanchez (L, 2-4) allowed the go-ahead run to score in the 11th inning and suffered the loss.

Top Takeaways:

• C Edward Duran went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a run, and a walk in his Double-A debut.
• INF Eric Snow notched his second three-hit game of the 12-game road trip.
• OF Alexis Hernandez totaled three hits in the win, his first three-hit effort in Double-A.
• RHP Nolan Perry’s four-inning start was his longest outing since joining the Cats.
• Five different New Hampshire hitters recorded multiple hits.
• The Fisher Cats improve to 7-3 in extra-inning games.
  • First win in extra-innings since June 21 at Binghamton.

New Hampshire struck first in the top of the second. With one out, right fielder Alexis Hernandez and catcher Edward Duran smacked back-to-back singles. Following a double steal, Hernadez scored on a passed ball and gave the Cats the early 1-0 advantage.

Erie took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Following a Woody Hadeen walk, Tigers number-two prospect Zyhir Hope (2) knocked a two-run homer to give Erie the 2-1 lead.

Trailing 2-1 in the top of the fourth, the Fisher Cats retook the lead. First baseman Dub Gleed tripled to open the inning. Following a strikeout and groundout, catcher Edward Duran blooped a game-tying RBI knock. Second baseman Adrian Pinto laced a double and with two runners in scoring position, third baseman Cutter Coffey lined a two-run single and made it 4-2.

The SeaWolves threatened in the bottom of the eighth with a run on a passed ball. The Cats’ right-hander Stanifer induced a groundout with two runners in scoring position and escaped the inning with a 4-3 lead.

With two outs and a runner at second in the bottom of the ninth and two outs, Hope struck again and evened the score at 4-4 with an RBI single.

New Hampshire and Erie both scored a run in the 10th. In the top of the inning, Duran popped a sacrifice fly and made it 5-4. In the bottom of the frame, first baseman Andrew Jenkins evened the score at five.

With the game locked in a 5-5 tie and a runner at second in the 11th, Arias swatted his go-ahead RBI triple to push the Cats ahead for good at 6-5. Erie was unable to counter in the bottom of the inning and New Hampshire secured a series opening win.

New Hampshire and Erie continue their six-game series on Aug. 19, with first pitch slated for 6:05 p.m. Right-hander Austin Cates (1-5, 5.33 ERA) will start for the Cats and the SeaWolves will counter with lefty Carlos Peña (6-4, 4.00 ERA). Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on the Fisher Cats Radio Network.