ERIE, Pa. (Interstat) — Luke Shliger hit two grand slams and drove in eight runs as the Erie SeaWolves beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 18-6 on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, at UPMC Park in Game 1 of the Eastern League (AA) playoffs. Erie leads the series 1-0. Erie totaled 17 hits, while Richmond had 15 hits. Peyton Graham went 2-for-6 with a home run and four RBIs for Erie, and E.J. Exposito went 4-for-5 with one RBI. Gavin Kilen went 4-for-5 with one RBI for Richmond, while Trevor Cohen went 3-for-5 with a home run and one RBI. Lucas Elissalt earned the win, allowing three earned runs on nine hits over five innings with four strikeouts. Miguel Mendez took the loss. Shane Rademacher pitched 3 1/3 innings of relief for Richmond, giving up two earned runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Zane Barnhart threw a scoreless inning for Erie. Attendance at UPMC Park was 3,580, and the game lasted 3 hours, 12 minutes. Richmond is now 74-61, while Erie is 80-58.