Somerset’s Ben Rice is Nice Again with Game Winning Homer
Ben Rice continued his domination of Double-A pitching, as the Yankees’ No. 23 prospect crushed yet another home run and the Somerset Patriots took down the Reading Fightin Phils 4-3 in the backend of a double-header.
Rice cracked a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning that gave the Patriots the lead for good. It was Rice’s eighth home run since getting called up to Double-A last month. He is hitting .329 with a .409 on-base percentage, as he continues to hit in the clutch.
Just your reigning Eastern League Player of the Week Ben Rice giving us the lead with a two-run blast in the 7th. pic.twitter.com/r12JJVaFJJ
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 16, 2023
Meanwhile, No. 2 prospect Jasson Dominguez got into the action with a 1-for-3 night, driving in a run and scoring another. The run Dominguez scored was his Eastern League-leading 75th run of the year.
Chase Hampton wound up the victor, allowing three runs, two earned, over six innings of work. The Longview, Texas native is now 2-2 on the year with Double-A Somerset.
Suspended Game Finished:
Earlier in the evening the Patriots and Phils completed a game that was suspended back in July due to rain. With the game knotted at four, the Phils rallied for a pair of runs in the top of the tenth inning. Baron Radcliff and Oliver Dunn drove in the game-winning runs for Reading. The Patriots sliced into that lead in the bottom half of the 10th when Eduardo Torrealba brought home Jasson Dominguez on a sacrifice fly.
The Patriots and Phils continue their week-long series tonight at 7 p.m. from First Energy Stadium. We will have the game for you on Fox Sports Radio New Jersey beginning at 6:30.