Waldichuck Dominates as Patriots and Cats Split Twin Bill

Bridgewater, NJ – The Somerset Patriots (17-9) and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (12-14) split Sunday afternoon’s double header as the Fisher Cats won game one 6–3 and the Patriots took game two 3–2 at TD Bank Ballpark.  

Game 1:

With the bases loaded in the top of the first, Luis De Los Santos cleared the bases on a double to center field, giving New Hampshire an early 3-0 lead.  

Somerset then scored twice in the bottom of the second, first on a wild pitch that allowed Brandon Lockridge to cross home, then a Blake Perkins RBI sacrifice fly that plated Jeisson Rosario. 

The Fisher Cats regained a three-run lead in the top of the fourth after Phillip Clarke came home on a balk and Sebastian Espino scored on a wild pitch.  

The Patriots got one run back in the bottom half of the inning on an Anthony Volpe infield single that dribbled down the third base line to stay fair and allowed Perkins to score.  

Phillip Clark added a final insurance run in the top of the sixth on a solo home run (2) to push New Hampshire’s lead back to three.  

Sean Rackoski (1-0) recorded a scoreless 1.1 innings and three strikeouts to notch the win.  Parker Caracci tossed two perfect innings and struck out two batters to earn the save (2).

Luis Medina (1-2) suffered the loss after he allowed five runs (three earned) in 3.1 innings.  

Game 2:

Ken Waldichuk (3-0) highlighted game two, pitching five no-hit innings and striking out 12 batters for the win. He began the game with six consecutive strikeouts. 

Somerset was the first to strike in the latter half of the afternoon, as Volpe clubbed a ball over the left field wall for a solo home run (4) in the bottom of the third. The shortstop hit 2-for-7 between both games and batted in two runs. 

Michael Beltre doubled home Lockridge the next inning, increasing the Patriots’ lead to 2-0.  Beltre knocked in a second run in the bottom of the sixth, singling in Perkins, which proved to be the decisive run.  

The Fisher Cats inched closer in the top of the seventh after a Ryan Gold sacrifice fly and a wild pitch.  Barrett Loseke retired the final six hitters for the save (1). 

Max Castillo (3-1) suffered the loss after he allowed two earned runs through four frames. 

The 2022 Somerset Patriots season presented by Ford will continue on the road on Tuesday, May 10 with a 6:00 pm game against the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) at Peoples Natural Gas Field.