Squirrels tied for third in the Eastern League!

Richmond’s 31-31 record is good enough for third place (well, tied for third) in the Eastern League. Also, you really need to check out the team jerseys for Jimmy Buffet night.

June 14, 2011; 8:42 PM • by Matt Sadler

Last Week

Richmond started off the week by visiting the Portland Sea Dogs and their high powered offense. In Game One it was Portland’s pitching that did the damage as the they shut down the Flying Squirrels 6-0. Game Two, Ryan Verdugo was again sensational, allowing just a lone run on five hits in Richmond’s 9-3 victory. Game Three also went to Squirrels as the Sea Dogs ran into Richmond’s other young pitching stud, Eric Surkamp.

Thanks to a strong series against the Eastern League-leading New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Flying Squirrels can claim a positive week as they took 2 of 3 and finished with a 4-2 record. Friday’s game was the lone loss as the Fisher Cats pounded out 6 runs against Justin Fitzgerald. Game Two was the Daryl Maday and Henry Sosa show as both pitchers combined to shut out New Hampshire 2-0. The rubber match went to Richmond as Nick Noonan led the Squirrels with four hits in the 9-3 victory.

The Squirrels are tied for third in the Eastern League with a record of 31-31.

This Week

vs Binghamton Mets

The Mets head into the Diamond on Tuesday (tonight!) with the Eastern League’s worst record. Their 19-41 record is symptomatic of the Mets franchise as a whole. The team is near the bottom of the league in both batting and pitching stats with a team batting average only a few points higher than the Squirrels. While Richmond leads the league in ERA, the Mets are tied for the worst in the league. Binghamton do have a couple players of note…2B Reese Havens (#6) and RHP Bradley Holt (#10) are both on Baseball America’s Top 10 Prospects for the Mets organization.

vs Bowie Baysox

I feel like I am previewing or reviewing these two teams every week, and so goes the life of an unbalanced schedule. By the end of the week, the two teams will have played each other 17 times. The Baysox have been on a bit of a resurgence this week. They took two out of three from the Eastern League leading New Hampshire and two out of three from the Portland Sea Dogs.

Players to watch

Jose Flores — despite only hitting .200, the 3B has been on a mini surge as he has been able to collect 11 hits over the past 10 games. Included in that span, is a .314 avg, one triple and six runs.

Henry Sosa — Sosa was recently transferred from Fresno and has been spectacular in his two relief appearances. He has given up zero runs and three hits over five innings.

At the Diamond

Wednesday Night — Dennis “Mr. Belding” Haskins is visiting The Diamond. The good news…it isn’t Screech. The bad news…it isn’t Kelly.

Thursday Night — Along with fireworks, it is also time to bust out the parachute pants and the Stone Temple Pilots for 90’s night.

Saturday Night — Jimmy Buffet Jersey Night. These rival the pink camo shirts as the worst jerseys of the season. Alas, I want to bid on one.

Sunday Afternoon — Fathers Day is a tie giveaway day. So kids, give you dad tickets to the game and no other obligatory gift is needed.

June 14, 2011 8:42 PM 1