Richmond Flying Squirrels Year in Review
End of season review of the team heading into postseason play
BASEBALL
Riley Trapp
10/27/20263 min read
The Richmond Flying Squirrels completed one of the most successful years in Franchise History. Richmond set multiple franchise records on the field, celebrated its earliest playoff-clinch, sent a franchise record seven players to the Major Leagues in the same season and now aim for the team’s first Eastern League Championship during the Inaugural season at CarMax Park.
April:
The Flying Squirrels opened the season in Erie with a one-run loss on April 4. Richmond then went on a franchise-record ten game winning streak, including the first ever six-game sweep in Flying Squirrels history during the inaugural series at CarMax Park. The Flying Squirrels ended April with an 18-4 record, the best record through 22 games in team history. Darien Smith was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Month after posting a 3-0 record with a 1.35 ERA in four appearances.
May:
Richmond continued to dominate in May. The Flying Squirrels hovered around the 20-games over .500 mark throughout the month and went 8-4 at CarMax Park. Joe Whitman was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Month after posting a 0.96 ERA and 3-0 record in five starts. Whitman led the Eastern League in ERA, BAA (.146) and WHIP (0.68) and was tied for first in strikeouts. Whitman tied a franchise record 24 consecutive scoreless innings in May.
June:
The Flying Squirrels entered June with a 6.5-game lead in the Southwest Division. On June 12, Richmond beat Harrisburg 3-0 in a rain-shortened five-inning game at CarMax Park to improve to 40-20 on the year. The win clinched the Southwest Division’s first half championship, the earliest playoff clinch in franchise history. Bo Davidson was named Eastern League Player of the Month, he hit .309 and a franchise record 11 home runs in the calendar month, including a stretch of four straight games with a homer.
July:
The Flying Squirrels received three big names to start July. Gavin Kilen and Dakota Jordan, who appeared in the Futures Game in Philadelphia during All-Star Weekend, came to Richmond alongside Trevor Cohen. All three are top 15 prospects in the Giants system by MLB.com. With Richmond, Kilen tied the minor league lead for doubles (34, July 31) and Cohen hit .483 (14-for-29) with four extra base hits to close out the month in Somerset (July 28- Aug. 2).
August:
Richmond enjoyed a record-setting August. On Aug. 7, Richmond beat Reading 10-9 at CarMax Park, a team-record 12th time scoring double-digit runs in a season. On Aug. 18 in Bowie, Richmond stole its 170th base of the season, a new franchise record. Former Flying Squirrel Braxton Roxby debuted with the Giants on Aug. 28, marking the 14th Richmond alum to debut in the Major Leagues in 2026, a new team record. Yunior Marte was called up to the Giants from Richmond on Aug. 29, he became the 8th player in franchise history to do so, joining Jonah Cox who did the same on May 31.
September:
The Flying Squirrels had a knack for late-game heroics all season. Richmond entered September off its record-setting 12th walk off win of the season (vs Portland, Aug. 30). On Sept. 1 in Akron, Richmond trailed 9-1 entering the fourth inning. The Flying Squirrels rallied for a 13-12 win, cementing the largest come-from-behind win in franchise history. It was the team’s fifth win after trailing by 5+ runs, 31st one-run win and 37th come-from-behind win of the season, all new franchise records.
