Red Wings stay hot with extra-inning win at Worcester

The Rochester Red Wings erupted for five runs in the 11th inning to secure a 7-2 extra-inning win over the Worcester Red Sox on Tuesday at Polar Park. Andrew Pinckney gave Rochester an early lead, opening the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning off Worcester starter Jake Bennett. Bennett otherwise dominated through five innings, striking out 11 without a walk and limiting the Red Wings to one run on seven hits.

Rochester starter Chandler Champlain matched him for much of the night, allowing just one run on five hits with one strikeout over 5⅔ innings. Worcester pulled even in the fifth when Matt Lloyd hit a solo homer. Rochester answered in the sixth as Seaver King tripled and scored on Trey Lipscomb’s sacrifice fly.

Rochester’s defense also helped, with Christian Franklin cutting down runners at second base twice from left field and Champlain picking off Braiden Ward at first. The Red Wings took a one-run lead into the ninth before Worcester forced extra innings. Vinny Capra led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and pinch-runner Tsung-Che Cheng eventually reached third before scoring on Nate Eaton’s groundout, tying the game 2-2.

Rochester broke it open in the 11th against reliever Wyatt Olds. Automatic runner Robert Hassell III scored when Lipscomb lined an RBI double to center, and Phillip Glasser’s bunt moved Lipscomb to third. Harry Ford then reached on a fielder’s choice, bringing home Lipscomb, and Abimelec Ortiz followed with a three-run homer to stretch the lead to 7-2.