The Akron RubberDucks defeated the Harrisburg Senators 8-6 in 10 innings at Akron, Ohio, on Aug. 18, 2026. Dean Curley hit a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to deliver the walk-off victory after Harrisburg tied the game in the ninth inning.
Harrisburg Takes Early Lead
The Senators scored twice in the first inning, taking a 2-0 lead. Branden Boissiere drove in Nick Mitchell with a sacrifice fly, followed by Elijah Green’s sacrifice fly that scored Devin Fitz-Gerald.
Akron responded quickly as Ryan Cesarini homered on the first pitch from Alex Clemmey to cut the lead to 2-1. Harrisburg loaded the bases in the second inning but failed to score.
In the third inning, after Green drew a walk to open the frame, Ethan Petry hit a two-run home run to extend the Senators’ lead to 4-1.
Akron Takes the Lead
The RubberDucks narrowed the deficit to 4-3 in the fourth inning when Bennett Thompson hit a two-out, two-RBI double. Akron then took the lead in the fifth inning on Aaron Walton’s three-run home run with runners on second and third.
Clemmey pitched 4.2 innings for Harrisburg, allowing six runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out three. Harrisburg scored again in the sixth inning when Boissiere drove in Kervin Pichardo with a two-out single, cutting Akron’s lead to 6-5.
Senators Respond and Game Ties
The Senators bullpen held Akron scoreless through the seventh and eighth innings. Sandy Gaston pitched 1.1 scoreless innings striking out three, Ben Grable followed with a scoreless seventh inning allowing one hit and two strikeouts, and Joe Glassey retired the side in order on seven pitches in the eighth.
In the ninth inning, Boissiere doubled down the left-field line and pinch runner Devin Ortiz scored to tie the game 6-6 on a Petry single through the drawn-in infield. Petry had driven in 13 runs in his last six games. Luke Young pitched a scoreless ninth inning to send the game into extra innings.
Walk-Off Win for Akron
In the 10th inning, Robert Cranz took the mound for Harrisburg and struck out the first two batters. Dean Curley then hit a two-run home run to win the game 8-6 for Akron. Cranz took the loss and fell to 3-2.
The Senators were scheduled to play again Wednesday night at 6:35 p.m. with Josh Randall (4-5) listed as the starting pitcher.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
The Harrisburg Senators overcame a 6-4 deficit with Boissiere’s sixth-inning single and Petry’s ninth-inning hit. The bullpen kept Akron scoreless from the seventh through the ninth inning. The comeback was not enough after Curley’s two-run homer ended the game in the 10th inning.
Source: Original report
