ERIE — Kenny Serwa steadied a seven-inning start and Thayron Liranzo erased a three-run deficit with a tying homer as the Erie SeaWolves rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Richmond Squirrels to advance to the Eastern League Championship Series for the fifth consecutive season.
Erie struggled early against Giants first-round pick Jackson Flora, who struck out four in two perfect innings on a strict pitch count before lefty Jacob Bresnahan took over. Serwa cruised through three scoreless frames before trouble in the fourth, when a one-out single and a walk set up Kaeden Kent for a three-run shot to right field and a 3-0 lead. Manager Tony Cappuccilli stuck with his veteran knuckleballer, and Serwa responded by retiring the side in order and working through seven innings with no further damage.
The SeaWolves finally broke through in the top of the sixth. Seth Stephenson reached and took second on an error, Zyhir Hope walked, and Liranzo mashed a three-run homer to left to tie the game 3-3. Chris Meyers followed with a double, Luke Shliger and Marques Johnson walks loaded the bases, and a passed ball scored Meyers for a 4-3 lead. Serwa tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, Stephenson walked and stole second to start the seventh, and Hope lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 5-3. Tanner Kohlhepp worked around a two-out walk in the eighth and hard-throwing sinkerballer Moises Rodriguez closed the ninth at 98-99 mph, surviving a shortstop error and a walk before fielding a soft swinging bunt by Zander Darby and flipping to first for the final out.
The victory sends Erie to its fifth straight Eastern League Championship Series under Cappuccilli. The best-of-three championship series will open Sunday at 5:05 p.m. ET at UPMC Park in Erie before shifting to Reading on Tuesday, following two days off.
In Toledo, Dylan File earned the win (7-1) with 6.0 innings of one earned run on three hits and five strikeouts as the Hens beat the Louisville Bats 5-1. The Hens drew seven walks, with Jace Jung delivering a sacrifice fly and two RBI doubles, while Enmanuel de Jesus handled the seventh and eighth and Yilber Diaz closed the ninth.