For the third straight day, Harrisburg took the early lead in the first inning. With two outs in the frame, Jacob Rhinesmith planted a double into the right field corner. After a wild pitch by A.J. Ladwig, Rhinesmith attempted to advance to third base, but a throw from catcher Jon Rosoff to try and catch the runner skipped into left field, giving Rhinesmith the path to home.
Erie quickly tied the game against Tim Cate in the bottom of the second inning. Andre Lipcius lifted a solo home run to center field to open the frame, but it would turn to be the only run Erie could manage against Cate, who worked through six innings and struck out four batters.
After sitting tied for two innings, A.J. Ladwig walked Jake Alu in the fourth inning, and a ground out pushed the runner to second base. Brady Lindsly pushed Harrisburg back into the lead with a single to center field, making it a 2-1 game. Ladwig was unfazed by the deficit as he worked a quality start for Erie, working through six innings with just the two runs allowed. The start extended Ladwig’s active streak to 13 consecutive starts of at least five innings pitched.
Moving to the bullpens, Erie retied the game in the seventh inning when Andrew Navigato singled up the middle. With Navigato on first base, Jon Rosoff grounded a ball toward the shortstop, setting up a potential double play. Harrisburg’s shortstop Gilbert Lara did not make a proper decision on whether to throw the ball to second base or first base, and instead threw the ball into right field, allowing Navigato to score from first base.
Tapini (L, 0-3) let up a leadoff double to Dillon Dingler in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Carson Teel immediately took over on the mound, but walked the first two batters he faced. With a simple bases loaded situation, Drew Ward drove in the eventual winning run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
The Erie bullpen returned to form when they used two arms to hurl three scoreless innings. Joe Navilhon worked two innings to earn the win and move to 4-3 on the season, while Cale Coshow tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn his sixth save of the year.
Erie looks ahead to their final road trip of the season next week, as they open a six-game series with the Altoona Curve on Tuesday. First pitch from PNG Field in Altoona is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Erie returns to UPMC Park for the final series of the season on Tuesday, September 14 to begin a series with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m.