Thayron Liranzo Homer Sends Erie SeaWolves to Fifth Straight Eastern League Final

Thayron Liranzo erased a three-run deficit with one swing Thursday night, helping the Erie SeaWolves beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-3 and advance to the Eastern League Championship Series for a fifth consecutive season.

Erie swept the best-of-three Southwest Division Series 2-0 at CarMax Park in Richmond. The SeaWolves will now face the Reading Fightin Phils in the championship series, beginning Sunday, September 20 at UPMC Park.

Liranzo changes the game in the sixth

Richmond took control in the fourth inning when Kaeden Kent hit a two-out, three-run homer off Erie starter Kenny Serwa. The Flying Squirrels carried that 3-0 advantage into the sixth, with Erie still searching for its first run.

Seth Stephenson opened the inning with an infield single and advanced on an error. Zyhir Hope then drew a walk, bringing Liranzo to the plate with two runners aboard.

The 23-year-old catcher delivered the defining swing of the series, driving a three-run homer to left-center field to tie the game at 3-3.

Erie kept the inning alive after the homer. Chris Meyers doubled, Luke Shliger and Izaac Pacheco walked, and Meyers scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball. The SeaWolves added insurance in the seventh when Stephenson walked, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Hope’s sacrifice fly.

Serwa settles in after Richmond’s homer

Serwa allowed Kent’s three-run shot but did not let the inning unravel. The knuckleballer completed seven innings and retired the minimum 10 hitters he faced after the home run.

Tanner Kohlhepp worked a scoreless eighth before Moises Rodriguez closed the game in the ninth.

Richmond had received an electric start from 2026 first-round pick Jackson Flora, who retired all six hitters he faced and struck out four over two perfect innings. But the Flying Squirrels could not protect the lead once Erie broke through in the sixth.

SeaWolves return to the Eastern League final

The victory extends one of the most consistent postseason runs in Minor League Baseball. Erie has now reached the Eastern League Championship Series in five straight seasons, winning league titles twice during that stretch.

The SeaWolves’ next opponent is familiar. Reading took four of six games from Erie in the final regular-season series last week before sweeping Hartford in its own Division Series.

Game 1 of the best-of-three Eastern League Championship Series is scheduled for Sunday at 5:05 p.m. ET in Erie. Games 2 and, if necessary, 3 will be played in Reading on Tuesday and Wednesday.