A night after falling behind early on the way to a lopsided defeat, the Hoptown Hoppers got on the board first on Wednesday against the visiting Fulton Railroaders. However, a missed chance to put up more runs in the first inning and backbreaking miscues in the final frame sent the Hoppers to a 3-1 loss.
A hit by pitch and a Gavin Baxter single put two on with no outs in the 1st, but the Hoppers could only push a single run across on Dom Oliverio’s RBI single.
In the top of the 2nd, Connor Brinkley doubled for the Railroaders and eventually came home on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Six scoreless frames followed before Fulton took advantage of Hopper mistakes in the top of the 9th. An error on a bunt allowed a run to score to make it 2-1, and a passed ball with two outs and the bases loaded added the insurance run.
The Railroaders outhit the Hoppers 6-5, led by a two-hit night for Brinkley. Logan Wilsker earned the win on the mound, allowing a single hit with two strikeouts over three scoreless innings.
Angel Larranza started on the mound for Fulton and gave up an earned run on four hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts over the first five frames.
John Girard took the loss for the Hoppers after surrendering two earned runs on two hits with three strikeouts over three innings. Cody Jones started and lasted three frames, allowing an unearned run on two hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
Baxter finished with two hits for Hoptown, with Oliverio, Luis Vallalba, and Sam Perkins each hitting safely once.
The Hoppers slipped to 1-5 and will welcome Fulton back to Colonel Field on Friday.
