READING, PA – A seventh-inning rally was not enough for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, who dropped another game against the Reading Fightin Phils, 4-2, Wednesday from FirstEnergy Stadium. The Cats have now lost three straight games and sit a game above .500 after previously winning five games in a row. First baseman Jackson Hornung extended his hit streak to 14 with a single in the eighth inning.

New Hampshire (8-7) starter Chris McElvain tossed five strong innings in his third start of the season. The righty allowed two earned runs on a pair of hits while striking out a season-high six batters. Fightin Phils’ (9-8) righty Kyle Brnovich held the Cats to just one run over 6.1 innings. He struck out seven batters in the longest outing of his career. Despite a rocky top of the eighth, Reading righty Levi Stoudt (W, 1-0) secured his first win. New Hampshire reliever Javen Coleman (L, 1-1) took the loss as the lefty allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth.

With New Hampshire behind 2-0 in the seventh, the Fisher Cats rallied to tie the game. Infielders Sean Keys and Jorge Burgos smacked back-to-back one-out singles. Two batters later, catcher Alex Stone ripped an RBI single. The next batter, Ismael Munguia, reached on an error, which allowed Burgos to scamper home and tie up the game at two.

Reading took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. With one away, designated hitter Dante Nori tripled. The infielder creeped in and second baseman Carson DeMartini blooped a go-ahead single into center field. Following another base hit, first baseman Alex Binelas cracked a sacrifice fly, which extended the Fightin Phils lead to 4-2.

Offense was hard to come by until Reading scored in the bottom of the fourth. With a runner on and two outs, Binelas (7) slugged a two-run blast and gave the Fighting Phils a 2-0 lead.

The series continues Thursday with a 6:45 p.m. first pitch. Fisher Cats RHP Gage Stanifer (0-1, 10.13 ERA) will get the start, and Reading will counter with RHP Chuck King (0-1, 5.54). Coverage begins at 6:25PM on WKXL and the Fisher Cats Radio Network.