Click here to read my Richmond.com account of the Flying Squirrels opening night at The Diamond.

The information below was provided by Jon Laaser with the Richmond Flying Squirrels

RICHMOND, VA – Flying Squirrels’ starter Daryl Maday worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings and Richmond held off the Reading Phillies, 3-0, in front of a capacity crowd of 9,560 on Opening Night  presented by MARTIN’S at The Diamond on Thursday night.  The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Squirrels in their first-ever game at The Diamond.

Maday had no trouble breezing through the first two innings in scoreless fashion, and the offense began to click for Richmond in the bottom of the second against Reading starter Michael Cisco.  Thomas Neal led off the inning with an opposite-field single and came around two batters later when Nick Noonan blasted an RBI double off the base of the wall in right field for a 1-0 lead.

That score held until the fifth inning, when Jackson Williams launched the first home run at The Diamond in franchise history, a solo-home run to left field that doubled the Squirrels’ advantage, 2-0.  The drive also represented the first home run of the season for Williams.

Conor Gillaspie supplied the final run of the evening when he belted a breaking-ball from Cisco out of the ballpark  to right field, capping the scoring at 3-0.  Cisco (1-1) was tagged with his first loss of the season over six innings, conceding three earned runs on six hits, walking two and striking out four.

Meanwhile, Maday (1-0) was thriving in front of the first home crowd of the season.  He retired nine batters in succession spanning from the second inning into the fifth.  Ultimately, he departed after 5 2/3 scoreless innings, earning his first victory of the season.  The right-hander walked two and struck out four.

The trio of Ronnie Ray, Jake Stevens and Rafael Cova finished the second shutout of the season for Richmond, with a combined 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.  Cova worked the final 1 1/3 for his second save of the season.

Flying Squirrels’ Franchise Firsts at The Diamond:

First Pitch: 7:13 PM

First Hit: Dominic Brown – Double (1st Inning off of Daryl Maday)

First Out: Tyson Gillies struck out by Daryl Maday

First Flying Squirrels’ Hit: Thomas Neal – Single (2nd Inning off of Michael Cisco)

First Home Run: Jackson Williams (5th Inning off of Michael Cisco)

First Win: Daryl Maday

First Save: Rafael Cova

Game two of the series is scheduled for 7:05 PM on Friday night at The Diamond.  RHP David Mixon (0-1, 7.20) will make the start for the Flying Squirrels against LHP Yohan Flande (0-0, 0.00) for Reading.