Squirrels split with Rock Cats, welcome hated Baysox to RVA

The Flying Squirrels (2-2) split the first series of the 2011 season, taking 2 of 4 from the New Britain Rock Cats (2-2) . Next up at 3 more at home with the hated division rival Bowie Baysox (1-2).

April 11, 2011; 12:00 PM • by John Murden

The Flying Squirrels (2-2) split the first series of the 2011 season, taking 2 of 4 from the New Britain Rock Cats (2-2) . Next up at 3 more at home with the hated division rival Bowie Baysox (1-2).

The Squirrels are now 1-0 at home on Opening Day after a dramatic, come-back 6-4 win on Thursday in front of a sell out crowd. Lefty Eric Surkamp (0-0, 0.00) struck out 10 over 4 scoreless innings in a stellar debut on Friday. In game 3 on Saturday, Justin Fitzgerald (1-0, 0.00) threw 5 scoreless innings and picked up his first win of 2011. Clayton Tanner took the loss on Sunday in a 4-0 shutout.

At 119 miles, the Bowie Baysox are the Flying Squirrels’ closest neighbor in the Eastern League and the team that the Squirrels will play the most in 2011 (25 games). Last year the Squirrels and Baysox met 29 times, with Richmond winning 16 of the matches and knocking Bowie out play-off contention in the final days of the season. Despite the Squirrels success against them, Bowie finished with a winning 75-67 record and a 6 1/2 game advantage over Richmond in the final standings.

A player to keep an eye out for on the Baysox is center fielder Xavier Avery. Brought up to Bowie at the end of last season, he is considered the top outfield prospect of the Orioles. Avery hit .271 with seven homers and 38 stolen bases in 136 games between A+ Frederick and Bowie and ranked 2nd in the Orioles’ system in stolen bases.

These ought to be some great games to come out for. There are 2-for-1 tickets on Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday is a morning game starting at 10:30AM. After this series the Squirrels are on the road until April 21….

Schedule

April 11 6:35PM (HOME)
Bowie Bay Socks vs Richmond Flying Squirrels
Tim Bascom (0-0, —) vs Ryan Verdugo (0-0, —)
Legends of Wrestling: George “The Animal” Steele Appearance
Bring in a honey purchase receipt for a Buy One Ticket Get One Free Offer courtesy of the National Honey Board. Visit http://www.honey.com/nhb/baseball/ for more details.

April 12 6:35PM (HOME)
Bowie Bay Socks vs Richmond Flying Squirrels
Reading Night #1 -Presented by Martin’s, Sports Radio 910
Mascot Poster Giveaway – The first 3,000 fans will receive a poster.
KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets – Buy 1 Ticket, Get 1 Free from KRAFT Singles with purchase. Bring your package wrapper to a Flying Squirrels game on Tuesdays for a steal of a deal! Visit kraftsingles.com for more info! Exclusions apply.

April 13 10:35AM (HOME)
Bowie Bay Socks vs Richmond Flying Squirrels
Education Day #1

Standings

EAS Eastern
Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
New Hampshire	3	1	.750	–	–	3-1	0-0	3-1	W3
Binghamton	2	2	.500	1.0	–	0-0	2-2	2-2	L1
New Britain	2	2	.500	1.0	–	0-0	2-2	2-2	W1
Portland	2	2	.500	1.0	–	2-2	0-0	2-2	W1
Reading	2	2	.500	1.0	–	0-0	2-2	2-2	L1
Trenton	1	3	.250	2.0	138	0-0	1-3	1-3	L3

EAS Western
Club	W	L	PCT	GB	*ELIM #	Home	Away	L 10	Streak
Harrisburg	2	1	.667	–	–	2-1	0-0	2-1	W1
Akron	2	2	.500	0.5	–	2-2	0-0	2-2	W1
Altoona	2	2	.500	0.5	–	0-0	2-2	2-2	W2
Erie	2	2	.500	0.5	–	2-2	0-0	2-2	L2
Richmond	2	2	.500	0.5	–	2-2	0-0	2-2	L1
Bowie	1	2	.333	1.0	139	0-0	1-2	1-2	L1