PONIES FALL TO ERIE

Feisty Rumble Ponies Fall Short in Finale

ERIE, PA – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies erased a pair of three-run deficits, but ultimately fell to the Erie SeaWolves, 11-10, on Thursday afternoon at UPMC Park. Dominic Ficociello and Jacob Robson each hit two homers for the SeaWolves, but it was Kody Eaves’ walk-off sacrifice fly in the ninth that snapped Erie’s nine-game losing streak.

The SeaWolves busted out the bats against Binghamton starter Joseph Shaw. Ficociello led the way with a five-RBI game. He hit a solo homer in the second before highlighting Erie’s five-run third with a three-run blast. Erie outfielder Jacob Robson joined the party with two homers of his own. Shaw was touched for ten runs on nine hits, including a career-high four homers.

The Rumble Ponies erased their first three-run deficit in the fourth with one swing. After Erie starter Kyle Funkhouser walked two, Joey Wong blasted a three-run homer over the wall in right-center. His second longball as a Rumble Pony tied the game at six.

Following Robson’s solo homers in the fourth and sixth, Erie tacked on two runs in the seventh. Reliever Adonis Uceta inherited two runners from Shaw and surrendered an RBI single to Ficociello before Eaves delivered a sacrifice fly.

Trailing by three, the Ponies chipped away with a pair of runs in the eighth. Jeff McNeil doubled to start the ninth, his third hit of the game, and scored the tying run on John Mora’s sacrifice fly.

Erie opened the bottom of the ninth with consecutive singles from Josh Lester and Ficociello. Eaves ended the game by lifting a sacrifice fly to center.

Uceta (0-1) allowed one run on three hits over two innings in the loss. He faced a season-high 11 batters. Mark Ecker (3-4) collected the win despite suffering his third blown save.

The Rumble Ponies (28-24) return home and start a four-game, three-day series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats with a doubleheader on Friday at 5:35 PM. The Horizons Federal Credit Union pregame show starts at 5:20 PM and can be heard on NewsRadio 1290 AM WNBF and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies channel on TuneIn.

POSTGAME NOTES: Binghamton suffered their third walk-off loss of the season…Matt Oberste hit his fifth home run of the season in the second inning…the Rumble Ponies took two-of-three against Erie, securing their fifth series win in their last six tries