MANCHESTER, NH - The Force was not with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats' bats Saturday night, as they struggled to score and fell victim to a 4-0 shutout at the hands of the Harrisburg Senators at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
The Fisher Cats (32-41) trailed from the first inning onward, and couldn't recapture the magic they had in Friday night's 3-2 walkout victory. The Senators (40-33) benefited from a superb performance from starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (W, 3-5), who dealt eight innings of shutout baseball with 10 strikeouts. New Hampshire went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Harrisburg got the scoring going immediately against Fisher Cats starting pitcher Casey Lawrence (L, 2-6). Zach Collier hammered a one-out double to right, and Isaac Ballou drew a walk. Neftali Soto hit a bouncer through the middle that second baseman Christian Lopes mishandled (allowing Collier to score), and Ballou and Soto both scored on a two-out double by Kevin Keyes, giving Harrisburg a 3-0 lead.
The Senators extended their lead in the top of the seventh against new reliever Daniel Schlereth. Leadoff man Wilmer Difo drew a walk to reach first base, and an errant pickoff throw by catcher Ryan Lavarnway skittered into the right field corner. Difo made the most of his opportunity, racing around the bases and scoring on the error to make it 4-0 Harrisburg.
Lawrence took the loss, allowing three runs (all unearned) on seven hits and three walks over six innings while striking out six. Schlereth gave up an unearned run on a walk in one inning of work. Brady Dragmire tossed two scoreless innings, surrendering one hit and registering one strikeout.
The Fisher Cats will try for the series split Sunday afternoon, with right-hander Taylor Cole starting for New Hampshire against Harrisburg righty Reynaldo Lopez. First pitch from Northeast Delta Dental Stadium is at 1:35 p.m., and Charlie Sherman and Ben Gellman have the call starting at 1:15 p.m. on the Fisher Cats Radio Network.
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Posted 6/27/16