BINGHAMTON, NY – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies split a doubleheader against the Akron RubberDucks on Wednesday afternoon at NYSEG Stadium. Gustavo Nunez sent the Ponies to a 2-1 win with a walk-off double in the opener before Binghamton fell 11-4 in the nightcap.

Game 1 – Binghamton 2, Akron 1

The Rumble Ponies had been held to one hit through six innings by Matt Esparza, but came alive in the seventh against Cameron Hill. After the first two batters reached on singles, Tomas Nido skipped an RBI single up the middle to tie the game. Gustavo Nunez scorched a double down the right-field line, bringing home Kevin Taylor from second with the game-winning run and sending Binghamton to their sixth straight victory.

Binghamton’s seventh-inning comeback made Chris Flexen (6-1) a winner for the fifth straight game. The righty surrendered just one run on four hits and struck out seven over seven innings in his second complete game with Binghamton.

Esparza took a no-decision despite tossing six shutout innings. He stepped around four walks before handing a one-run lead to Hill (3-4) who suffered his second blown save.

Game 2 – Akron 11, Binghamton 4

The RubberDucks snapped their six-game losing streak by pouncing on newcomer Andrew Church in his Double-A debut. Akron put two runs on the board in the second on a triple by Dorsyss Paulino and a sacrifice fly from Todd Hankins.

Akron put the game out of reach with a four-run third inning. Mike Papi pulled a two-run homer down the right-field line before Todd Hankins and Yonathan Mendoza added run-producing hits. Eric Haase highlighted Akron’s five-run fifth inning with a solo homer.

Tyler Moore closed Binghamton’s pitching tab with a scoreless seventh inning and became the 20th position player in franchise history to appear on the mound.

Dominic DeMasi (1-0) retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced to earn the win in his Double-A debut. He surrendered two hits over five innings and struck out six.

Church (0-1) allowed ten runs on ten hits and issued six walks in 4-2/3 innings in the loss.

The Rumble Ponies (52-40) open a four-game series against the Senators in Harrisburg on Thursday at 7 p.m. RHP Mickey Jannis takes the mound against RHP John Simms. The Horizons Federal Credit Union Pregame Show can be heard starting at 6:45 on NewsRadio 1290 AM WNBF and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies channel on TuneIn.

POSTGAME NOTES: The Rumble Ponies celebrated their fourth walk-off win of the season…Binghamton’s six-game winning streak was their second-longest of the season, trailing a seven-game clip in May…Tyler Moore is the first Binghamton position player to pitch since Brock Peterson threw three scoreless innings against the Altoona Curve on September 7, 2015

Tickets for Binghamton’s entire home schedule can be purchased at the NYSEG Stadium box office, online on www.bingrp.com and over the phone at (607) 722-FUNN.

– Submitted