The 2010 PIAA football season officially starts Friday, but that didn’t stop baseball’s Richmond Flying Squirrels from beating the Erie SeaWolves by a gridiron-type score Thursday night.

Richmond routed Erie 14-0 in the teams’ four-game series finale at Jerry Uht Park. The SeaWolves (63-75) saw their winning streak emphatically end at four games, while the Squirrels (65-72) avoided being swept when they batted around in the fifth and sixth innings for their last 12 runs.

Brad Boyer, Conor Gillaspie and Juan Ciriaco hit home runs for the visitors. Ciriaco’s two-run shot in the sixth reached the Tullio Arena roof in left.

Seven of Richmond’s 16 hits were for extra bases.

Brent Wyatt recorded three of Erie’s eight hits. Wyatt extended his hitting streak to seven straight games.

Erie goes into the final weekend of the Eastern League’s regular season last in the Western Division. The SeaWolves, who host the Akron Aeros, are 2½ games behind the Squirrels.

– Mike Copper

Phil Nevin only needed two full seasons of minor league baseball before the Houston Astros summoned their former No. 1 draft pick to the Astrodome in 1995.

That’s one-seventh of the time it took Max St. Pierre to achieve the same status.

Nevin, like much of the baseball world this week, had no choice but to admire St. Pierre’s call-up to the parent Detroit Tigers after persevering in the minors for 14 seasons.

St. Pierre, who played all or parts of seven seasons with Erie between 2002 and this year, became a 30-year old rookie with Detroit on Tuesday. His was a journey that began with the Gulf Coast Tigers in 1997.

“A special guy and a special moment,” Nevin said of St. Pierre, whom he managed early in Erie’s 2010 Eastern League season. “Not just for him, but for the organization to stick with a guy that long.”

St. Pierre played 434 of his 978 minor league games with Erie, more than any other franchise in his career. Twenty of those games were this season, with arguably the Quebec native’s greatest moment in a SeaWolves uniform happening April 17.

On that day, St. Pierre celebrated his 30^th birthday with a game-winning, two-run home run against Altoona in the bottom of the ninth inning. It not only guaranteed 6-5 victory at Jerry Uht Park, but ended Erie’s franchise-record 0-8 start to the season.

**

Nevin was not so fawning about Uht Park’s infield, as more than one ground ball has taken a funky bounce since Erie’s final homestand began Monday.

Wednesday’s 4-1 victory by the SeaWolves appeared over when the Flying Squirrels’ Thomas Neal hit what looked to be an innocuous bouncer to Rawley Bishop. The Erie first baseman was left grasping air with his glove, as the ball suddenly caromed to his right and into right field for a single.

Erie closer Cory Hamilton retired Richmond’s Clay Timpner for the final out. However, Nevin remained less than pleased about the field’s current condition.

“I can’t sugar coat it. The infield’s terrible,” Nevin said. “The grass is bad because apparently there’s some sort of disease. The (grounds crew) is trying to take care of it, but that last (grounder to Bishop) was like a cue ball.”

**

Ramon Garcia was recalled to the SeaWolves from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday. It’s the third stint in an Erie uniform for the Dominican pitcher this season.

Garcia (0-5, 5.32 earned-run average) assumes Erie’s 24^th roster spot. The SeaWolves played Richmond on Wednesday a man short with catcher Andy Bouchie’s promotion to the Mud Hens.

John Murrian is projected to start behind the plate for the rest of the homestand as Erie’s only regular catcher. Billy Nowlin is the emergency backup.

**

It’s not fair to compare Trenton third baseman Brandon Laird to Boston Red Sox great Fred Lynn.

Still, they share a baseball trait as of Thursday. Both received most valuable player and rookie of the year awards for one season.

Laird picked up those trophies when he was voted the Eastern League’s best player for 2010. The Thunder’s best offensive threat goes into Thursday’s action with a .291 batting average, 23 homers and 90 RBIs.

**

Starting lineups for Thursday’s game at Jerry Uht Park:

Richmond Flying Squirrels (64-72): 1. Brock Bond 2B, 2. Brad Boyer DH, 3. Thomas Neal RF, 4. Conor Gillaspie 3B, 5. Sharlon Schoop 1B, 6. Clay Timpner CF, 7. Juan Ciriaco LF, 8. Tyler La Torre C, 9. Ryan Lormand SS.

Starting pitcher: RH Mike MacDonald (4-8, 4.05 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves (63-74): 1. Alden Carrithers CF, 2. Brandon Douglas SS, 3. Brandon Jones LF, 4. Rawley Bishop 1B, 5. Bryan Pounds 3B, 6. Billy Nowlin DH, 7. Deik Scram RF, 8. John Murrian C, 9. Brent Wyatt 2B.

Starting pitcher: LH Jon Kibler (4-6, 6.19 ERA).

– Mike Copper

The Erie SeaWolves are a last-place team, but continued to play first-rate baseball Wednesday.

The SeaWolves won their fourth straight with a 4-1 victory over Richmond at Jerry Uht Park. Erie scored three runs over its last two at-bats for a third consecutive win against the Flying Squirrels.

Respectively, Richmond and Erie are next-to-last and last in the Eastern League’s Western Division standings. However, the SeaWolves are doing all they can to change places.

The teams would be tied in the win column if Erie (63-74) can sweep its four-game series against Richmond (64-72) on Thursday. The SeaWolves have five games left to vacate the division basement.

Erie ended its 1-all tie with Richmond in the bottom of the seventh inning when Brandon Douglas’ infield single scored Alden Carrithers from third base. John Murrian padded the lead with a two-run double in the eighth.

Murrian was the only regular catcher on Erie’s roster thanks to Andy Bouchie’s call-up to Triple-A Toledo.

Matt Hoffman (1-2) was the winning pitcher in relief of SeaWolves starter Brayan Villarreal. Cory Hamilton recorded Richmond’s final out for his first save.

– Mike Copper

Erie SeaWolves catcher Andy Bouchie received his first career Triple-A promotion Wednesday.

Bouchie, who hit .205 in 59 games for Erie, was expected to join Toledo in time for the team’s International home game against Louisville.

However, it’s who Bouchie replaced on the Mud Hens that should give any minor league player hope.

Former SeaWolves catcher Max St. Pierre, who’s played 13 of his 14 professional seasons in the Detroit Tigers system, learned late Tuesday that he’d been summoned by the parent club. The major league rosters expanded Wednesday, which means the Quebec native could be a 30-year old major league rookie for the rest of 2010.

It was the 2002 season when St. Pierre first appeared in a SeaWolves uniform. Since then, he played all or parts of seven seasons with them in the Eastern League.

St. Pierre began this season with Erie. He appeared in 20 games before the Tigers summoned him to Toledo.

**

A ceremony will be held Friday at 10 a.m. to dedicate the diamond at Bayview Park in honor of the Erie Pontiacs, the African-American team which competed there between 1936 and 1956.

The soon-to-be-named Pontiac Field was home to such greats like Willie Grace, W.C. Crosby and Sam Jethroe, who was the 1950 National League Rookie of the Year with the Boston Braves.

To promote the ceremony, a booth will be set up during Thursday’s game between the SeaWolves and Richmond Flying Squirrels at Jerry Uht Park. A video presentation also will be shown.

**

Another booth will be set up Monday before and during the early innings of Erie’s season finale against Akron.

Five players for the 2010-2011 Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team, highlighted by two-time Olympic champion Meghan Agosta and Vicki Bendus, last season’s Division I player of the year, will be on hand to greet fans and sign autographs from noon to 2 p.m.

The players’ appearance is in conjunction with the 2011 Women’s Frozen Four. The national semifinals and championship game will be held at Tullio Arena on March 18 and 20.

**

Starting lineups for Wednesday’s game at Jerry Uht Park:

Richmond Flying Squirrels (64-71): 1. Brock Bond LF, 2. Brad Boyer SS, 3. Conor Gillaspie 3B, 4. Thomas Neal RF, 5. Clay Timpner DH, 6. Sharlon Schoop 1B, 7. Nick Noonan 2B, 8. Tyler La Torre C, 9. Ryan Lormand CF.

Starting pitcher: RH Felix Romero (4-3, 3.55 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves (62-74): 1. Alden Carrithers CF, 2. Brandon Douglas SS, 3. Brandon Jones DH, 4. Rawley Bishop 1B, 5. Bryan Pounds 3B, 6. Billy Nowlin LF, 7. Deik Scram RF, 8. John Murrian C, 9. Brent Wyatt 2B.

Starting pitcher: RH Brayan Villarreal (0-4, 4.06 ERA).

– Mike Copper

So much for the Erie SeaWolves’ 10-game home run drought.

Billy Nowlin emphatically ended the team’s long ball void against Richmond on Tuesday. The designated hitter socked solo homers to lead off the bottom of the second and fourth innings of Erie’s 4-2 victory at Jerry Uht Park.

It marked the second straight night that the SeaWolves (62-74) beat the Flying Squirrels (64-71) by that score. Erie has six games left in its bid to surpass Richmond and get out of the Eastern League’s Western Division basement.

Nowlin’s homers were his fourth and fifth with the SeaWolves. His was Erie’s first multi-homer game since Bryan Pounds went deep twice July 6.

Pounds recorded a two-run double in the bottom of the first off Squirrels starter Craig Westcott (3-3). It was the first of the third baseman’s three hits.

Erie pitcher Anthony Shawler (5-3) was victorious for the first time since Aug. 5, while Jay Voss recorded his first save with a scoreless ninth.

– Mike Copper

Yes, Adam Wilk has only worn the Erie SeaWolves’ orange and black for one week.

And yes, the starting pitcher is on a rotation void of veterans like Brooks Brown (disabled list) and Thad Weber (promoted to Triple-A).

However, there’s no argument Wilk is the staff’s current ace. The 23-year old has pitched like one in his two starts for the SeaWolves, the second of which was in Monday’s 4-2 victory over Richmond.

Wilk went the first eight innings in his Jerry Uht Park debut. The left-hander from Buena Park, Calif., allowed two hits, walked two struck out eight and retired the last nine Flying Squirrels he faced.

Richmond only had two hits off Wilk, both in the top of the second inning. Clay Timpner hit a tape-measure home run and Eliezer Zambrano followed with a double.

Zambrano, though, was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a triple.

“He moves the ball in and out,” Erie manager Phil Nevin said of Wilk. “He doesn’t possess overpowering stuff, but I’ve seen a lot of guys who have made it to the majors with that kind of stuff.”

Wilk will take a 2-0 record and a 0.56 earned-run average into his final start of the 2010 baseball season, scheduled for Saturday against the Akron Aeros.

**

Weber, who was called up to Toledo the same day Wilk arrived in Erie, is scheduled to make his second career Triple-A start Tuesday night. The former SeaWolves right-hander will face the Louisville Bats in an International League game at Fifth Third Field.

In his Mud Hens’ debut, Weber pitched the first seven innings in a 2-1 loss at Indianapolis. He surrendered the Indians’ runs on five hits, walked one and struck out eight.

**

Erie, which bashed with Binghamton for the Eastern League lead in home runs most of this season, has fallen to third in that team category.

The SeaWolves go into Tuesday’s game against Richmond with 124 homers. That total trails the Mets (142) and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (132).

A reason is Erie’s current power outage. The SeaWolves have gone homerless since Aug. 20, when Bryan Pounds went deep in the second inning of a 5-3 victory over Reading.

First baseman Rawley Bishop remains Erie’s active leader with nine homers. Bishop also is the team’s active leader in RBIs with 42.

**

Balloting closes Wednesday for Double Play for Charity, an online contest that allows fans to vote for their favorite player on the SeaWolves.

Erie Insurance Group (www.erieinsurance.com/seawolves) is co-sponsoring the contest. The organization will donate $2,500 to charitable organization of the top vote-getter’s choice.

Among the 15 charities vying for the donation are the John Kanzius Cancer Foundation, the Shriners Hospital and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Erie Insurance will announce the winning player and present the check to the charity of his choice before the SeaWolves’ season finale against Akron on Labor Day.

**

Starting lineups for Tuesday’s game at Jerry Uht Park:

Richmond Flying Squirrels (64-70): 1. Brock Bond 3B, 2. Brad Boyer SS, 3. Conor Gillaspie DH, 4. Thomas Neal LF, 5. Clay Timpner RF, 6. Sharlon Schoop 1B, 7. Nick Noonan 2B, 8. Tyler La Torre C, 9. Ryan Lormand CF.

Starting pitcher: RH Craig Westcott (3-2, 5.40 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves (61-74): 1. Alden Carrithers LF, 2. Brandon Douglas SS, 3. Bryan Pounds 3B, 4. Rawley Bishop DH, 5. Deik Scram RF, 6. Billy Nowlin 1B, 7. Brent Wyatt 2B, 8. John Murrian C, 9. Kyle Peter CF.

Starting pitcher: RH Anthony Shawler (4-3, 4.84 ERA).

– Mike Copper

Even though Adam Wilk gave up a tape-measure home run, the Erie SeaWolves pitcher rendered it miniscule Monday night.

Wilk, in his first appearance at Jerry Uht Park, pitched a two-hitter for the first eight innings of Erie’s 4-2 victory over Richmond. The left-hander walked two and struck out eight in his second impressive performance since an Aug. 24 promotion from Single-A Lakeland (Fla.)

A crowd of 5,552, Erie’s second largest this season, watched the opener of the team’s final home stand. The SeaWolves are now 61-74, while the Flying Squirrels dropped to 64-70.

Richmond recorded its only two hits off Wilk (2-0) in the top of the second inning. The first was Clay Timpner’s solo home run that cleared Uht Park’s right-field screen, Holland Street and bounced off the back roof of the facility’s maintenance garage.

Erie, though, still led 2-1 at that point. The hosts bolstered their lead with two more runs in the fifth.

Brandon Douglas led the SeaWolves on offense with three hits and two runs scored. Deik Scram lined the two-run double that gave Erie a 4-1 lead.

Lester Oliveros allowed Richmond’s second run in the ninth, but Erie’s closer still held on for his 13^th save.

– Mike Copper

Yes, Monday starts the Erie SeaWolves’ final home stand at Jerry Uht Park for the 2010 Eastern League season.

But for all the transactions made during the team’s last road trip, it also could be considered a meet-and-greet with the team’s new players.

Erie surpassed 100 transactions last week. The SeaWolves’ continuously revamped roster saw the addition of three newcomers in outfielder Kyle Peter, starting pitcher Adam Wilk and relief pitcher Erik Crichton. Wilk, who pitched an eight-inning, one-hit shutout in his Double-A debut last week, will start for the SeaWolves in Monday’s 7 p.m. game against Richmond.

Also back is starting pitcher Jon Kibler, who began the year with Erie.

All four games between the Flying Squirrels and SeaWolves will start at 7:05 p.m. Probable starters for the series are: Richmond LH Jake Stevens (4-3, 2.38 ERA) vs. Erie LH Adam Wilk (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on Monday; RH Craig Westcott (3-2, 5.40) vs. RH Anthony Shawler (4-3, 4.84) on Tuesday; RH Felix Romero (4-3, 3.55) vs. RH Brayan Villarreal (0-4, 4.06) on Wednesday; and RH Mike MacDonald (4-8, 4.05) vs. LH Jon Kibler (4-6, 6.19) on Thursday.

**

If the Squirrels take a lead late in any game this series, Erie should expect to see Rafael Cova. The Richmond closer leads the league with 21 saves.

It’s the reason Cova was voted the top reliever for the league’s 2010 all-star team. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats lead the list with three players, highlighted by pitcher Kyle Drabek.

The SeaWolves were absent of such honors.

**

Along with his 2010 all-star honor, Drabek also was voted the league’s pitcher of the year. The 22-year old right-hander, who didn’t face Erie this season, goes into the final full week of the regular season with a 14-9 record and a 2.89 earned-run average.

Drabek’s father is Doug Drabek, the 1990 National League Cy Young winner with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

**

Portland catcher Ryan Lavarnway and right-hander Mike Cisco were named the league’s player and pitcher of the week for the week ending Sunday.

**

The SeaWolves go into their final home stand with an overall fan count of 192,879 at Uht Park. That figure ranks them 11^th out of the league’s 12 teams, with the Binghamton Mets last at 188,917.

Erie has averaged 3,214 in 60 dates for the 2010 season. With eight games left, the team will need just over 3,500 per game to surpass the 2009 total of 220,909.

Since joining the league in 1999, the SeaWolves’ best season for attendance was 2001. That year, their first as a Detroit Tigers affiliate, saw 246,404 file through Uht Park’s turnstiles.

The Reading Phillies (432,796) and Richmond (432,436) are 1-2 in the league for crowd count. Reading has four home games left, while Richmond returns home for four against Bowie after its series at Erie.

**

Starting lineups for Monday’s game at Jerry Uht Park:

Richmond Flying Squirrels (64-69): 1. Brock Bond LF, 2. Sharlon Schoop 1B, 3. Conor Gillaspie 3B, 4. Thomas Neal DH, 5. Brad Boyer SS, 6. Clay Timpner RF, 7. Eliezer Zambrano C, 8. Nick Noonan 2B, 9. Ryan Lormand CF.

Starting pitcher: LH Jake Stevens (4-3, 2.38 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves (60-74): 1. Brent Wyatt 2B, 2. Brandon Douglas SS, 3. Bryan Pounds 3B, 4. Rawley Bishop 1B, 5. Billy Nowlin DH, 6. Deik Scram LF, 7. John Murrian C, 8. Matt Mansilla RF, 9. Alden Carrithers CF.

Starting pitcher: LH Adam Wilk (1-0, 0.00 ERA).

– Mike Copper

Saturday night’s game between the Reading Phillies and Erie SeaWolves at Jerry Uht Park was postponed because of rain. The Eastern League contest, originally scheduled for 7:05 p.m., was called after a 57-minute delay because of the impending forecast.

The teams will play a doubleheader Sunday. The first of two seven-inning match-ups will start at 12:05 p.m.

Erie, winners in 12 of its last 14 games, takes a 57-68 record into its second home doubleheader of 2010. Reading (59-64) seeks to end a five-game losing streak against the SeaWolves.

**

Bryan Pounds has two theories for the SeaWolves’ improved play this month.

The first is camaraderie. Pounds cited the influx of players from Single-A Lakeland (Fla.) to Double-A Erie, which improved to 12-5 for August with Friday’s 5-3 victory over Reading at Jerry Uht Park.

Most of the current SeaWolves are familiar with each other since they began the 2010 baseball season as Flying Tigers in the Florida State League.

The second is something that was known only within Erie’s clubhouse, at least until Pounds confessed it after Friday’s win.

“We’re jamming Journey on the radio,” the third baseman said. “It’s been working, so that’s what we’re going to stick with.”

Classic rock superstitions aside, Erie goes into Saturday’s game against Reading on a 12-2 run. That stretch includes four straight victories vs. the Phillies.

**

Erie’s John Murrian doubled and scored twice in his Double-A debut Friday. The former Lakeland catcher was joined by infielder-outfielder Brent Wyatt and outfielder Matt Mansilla en route to Erie.

However, Murrian’s stay with the SeaWolves could be longer than the other two.

Manager Phil Nevin said after Friday’s game that catcher Jeff Kunkel could be out for the rest of the season. Kunkel was placed on the seven-day disabled list Thursday with a right knee injury originally suffered during Erie’s previous home stand.

“He’s one of our top catching prospects,” Nevin said of the 22-year old Murrian. “He’ll get the bulk of the innings behind the plate.”

**

Not only have the SeaWolves been winning more of late, they’ve been doing so with fewer players.

Erie beat Reading with a reduced roster of 22. The parent Detroit Tigers didn’t make any moves to fill the two vacant spots Saturday, which means the SeaWolves will play Reading again with a smaller bench.

That dearth could have cost Erie on Friday.

Nevin was forced to massively shuffle the SeaWolves’ lineup when second baseman Alden Carrithers was ejected in the third inning after he argued a called strike three with home plate umpire Jon Saphire. Wyatt moved from center field to second, Deik Scram from right field to center and Mansilla was inserted in right.

Mansilla then switched outfield spots in the sixth after Scram caught a cleat and twisted an ankle running out a fly out the previous inning.

“That was a first,” Scram said of his right-to-center-to-right shifts. “But I got through it, and we got the win.”

**

Former SeaWolves shortstop Cale Iorg, who was called up to Toledo on Friday, went 1-for-3 in his first career Triple-A game.

Iorg doubled for the Mud Hens in their 1-0 loss to Indianapolis at Fifth Third Field. It was one of only two hits for Toledo which was shut out by Indians starter Jeremy Powell and two relievers.

Erie’s Brandon Douglas took over at short for Iorg on Friday. Douglas reached base twice, but saw his hitting streak end at 10 consecutive games.

– Mike Copper

The Reading Phillies’ error total matched the Erie SeaWolves’ run total Friday night.

That not-so-equal equation helped Erie maintain its winning ways with a 5-3 victory before 4,473 at Jerry Uht Park. Reading’s porous defense contributed to the last three runs for the SeaWolves, who are now 57-68.

Erie has a 12-2 record since Aug. 5. That run includes four straight victories over the Phillies, who dropped to 59-64 in the Eastern League’s Eastern Division.

Reading committed four of its five errors in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Erie scored twice and took a 4-1 lead. Third baseman Bryan Pounds drove in one run amid the Phillies’ mistakes.

Earlier, Pounds hit a two-run home run off Reading starter Mike Cisco (3-9).

Catcher John Murrian, infielder Brent Wyatt and outfielder Matt Mansilla each played their first career Double-A games after being promoted to Erie from Single-A Lakeland (Fla.) Murrian doubled, scored twice and also caught winning pitcher Thad Weber (9-12).

Weber went the first 7 2/3 innings, which increased his league lead in that category to 167 2/3.

– Mike Copper