Romero Brilliant on Mound, Smith at Plate

Harrisburg, PA- Left-hander Ricky Romero pitched shutout baseball over a season-high 7.1 innings to record his first victory since August 31, 2006 as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats knocked off the Harrisburg Senators, 6-1, Thursday night at Commerce Bank Park .

Ryan Patterson, John Schneider and David Smith all hit home runs to help the Fisher Cats avoid a three-game sweep in Harrisburg .

Romero (1-5) scattered three hits, walked three and registered eight strikeouts to notch the victory.

Patterson (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, BB, 2 RBI) stroked a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the top of the first inning against Mike Hinckley, scoring Manny Mayorson, who singled, to give the Fisher Cats a 2-0 lead. Patterson’s home run, his 15th, was the RELCO Enlightening Play of the Game.

Hinckley (9-9) served up a solo shot to Schneider (2-for-4, HR, RBI, R), his fifth, on a 3-1 pitch with one out in the sixth inning that lifted New Hampshire’s lead to 5-0. Hinckley allowed five runs –three earned- in 5.1 innings to suffer the loss. He allowed eight hits and walked three.

Smith’s 15th homer was an opposite field solo shot in the seventh inning off Senators’ reliever Jerome Williams, giving New Hampshire (56-55) a 6-0 lead.

Harrisburg (38-74) prevented the shutout in the bottom of the ninth inning when Josh Whitesell led off with his 19th home run of the season, an opposite-field blast off reliever Seth Overbey (1.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K).

The Fisher Cats scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third inning when Patterson and Smith singled. Patterson scored on third baseman Dan Dement’s fielding error, and Smith came home on first baseman Whitesell’s fielding error.

New Hampshire remains 3.5 games behind Portland in the race for the second and final playoff spot in the Eastern League’s Northern Division after the Sea Dogs capped a three-game sweep of Bowie with a 6-3 win earlier today.

The Fisher Cats open a three-game series in Altoona (PA) against the Curve, Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday night at 7:05pm. Left-hander Eric Fowler (3-4, 7.39) takes the mound at Blair County Ballpark against Curve right-hander Dewon Brazelton (3-3, 3.83).