The Erie SeaWolves held on for a clunky win over the Harrisburg Senators on Thursday Night at UPMC Park. After Erie had opened with six runs in the first two innings of the contest, Harrisburg charged with five unanswered runs before Erie could close out the 6-5 victory.
Erie struck early against Harrisburg’s Joan Adon, plating a quick run in the first inning. Yariel Gonzalez opened the night with a walk, and advanced to third base on a stolen base and error. Kerry Carpenter, celebrating his 24th birthday, singled in Gonzalez to open the scoring.
Breaking the game open in the second inning, Erie started with a trio of singles from Andrew Navigato, Dane Myers, and finally an RBI knock from Eric De La Rosa. Gonzalez drew another walk to load the bases, and Dillon Dingler continued the inning with a sacrifice fly to give Erie a three-run lead. Carpenter capped the early scoring with a three-run home run to right-center field, his 14th of the season. All six runs were charged to Adon (1-1), who took the loss for Harrisburg.
The Harrisburg bullpen shut down Erie after the third inning, with Alex Troop and Reid Schaller holding the offense to only one more hit.
Beau Brieske pieced together another strong performance against the Harrisburg offense after spinning seven shutout innings against them in August. Brieske (2-1) opened with four scoreless innings with just one hit allowed before letting up a pair of runs in the fifth. After two singles and a walk loaded the bases, Brieske hit a batter to force in the first run of the day, and an error from the shortstop let in an unearned run before Brieske finished the frame.
After logging two quick outs in the sixth inning, Brieske handed the ball to Ruben Garcia. Garcia danced around three baserunners in his relief for Erie, but still logged 1.1 scoreless innings. Following Garcia, Gerson Moreno struggled to stay consistent, giving Harrisburg a chance in the eighth inning. After two hits and a walk loaded the bases to open the frame, Moreno walked in two runs, and couldn’t finish the inning. With the lead trimmed to just two runs, Henry Martinez worked a line out to strand the bases loaded.
The ninth inning turned worrying again for Erie, as Cale Coshow allowed a double and a single for another run. With the tying run at second base, Coshow struck out Gilbert Lara to preserve the save, his fifth of the season.
Erie and Harrisburg continue their series on Friday night at UPMC Park, and fans will get to enjoy another round of spectacular post-game Zambelli Fireworks, presented by Bonnell’s Auto Group. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.