MANCHESTER — The Fisher Cats have a franchise-record 19 extra-inning games this season, none more exhausting and disappointing than Thursday-into-Friday's 9-7 loss to Erie.

Ryan Schimpf forced extra inning with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, triggering a 17-inning marathon at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. New Hampshire erased a four-run deficit in the ninth inning and a one-run deficit in the 11th inning but lost in the longest home game in club history. The contest lasted 5 hours, 39 minutes, ending at 12:46 a.m.

“Obviously, the body gets physically tired, but it's just as mentally tiring,” said Fisher Cats catcher Sean Ochinko, who worked all 17 innings. “It's draining. You have to ride it out. You have to man up.”

Ranking the top-10 highlights and historic notes:

1. Erie slugger Jordan Lennerton fouled off four straight pitches before doubling off Chorye Spoone in the 17th, driving home Niuman Romero. Spoone (2-2) was the game's 13th pitcher.

2. Schimpf, called up from Single-A Dunedin this week, broke an 0-for-8 stretch with a two-run homer against fireballer Bruce Rondon. The Erie reliever blew the save but registered 100, 101 and 102 mph on radar guns.

3. New Hampshire trailed by four runs when Ryan Goins (4-for-6) stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Goins' train-track homer against Kelvin De La Cruz launched New Hampshire's four-run rally.

4. Erie pulled ahead in the 11th on Jamie Johnson's sacrifice fly, but once again the Fisher Cats played long ball to force extra frames.

5. This time, Kevin Howard cranked a first-pitch fastball from Ryan Robowski over the right-field wall, tying the game at 7-apiece.

6. In the 16th, the Fisher Cats loaded the bases with no outs. Reliever Michael Morrison entered to strike out Schimpf, Ochinko and Brian Bocock. Morrison (3-3 ) worked two innings, striking out five straight, for the win.

“It's rough. You feel bad about it. You feel like you let the team down,” Ochinko. “I'm usually pretty good at shaking things off, but that at-bat really made me upset.”

7. Fisher Cats right fielder Brad Glenn made a diving catch to rob Erie's Rawley Bishop in the 12th and prevent a go-ahead run. Bishop went hitless in seven at-bats before lining a double in the 17th, scoring Lennerton.

8. John Tolisano tripled in the first inning and scored on Jake Marisnick's sacrifice fly — but the game would last another 5-plus hours.

“That's definitely the longest game I've ever been involved in,” Tolisano said. “We fought for quite a while. It was a really tough loss. I sat there in the dugout after the game and took a while to collect my thoughts.”

9. Erie catcher James McCann worked all 17 innings and had four hits. New Hampshire's catcher, Ochinko, who also went the distance, and was 1-for-7.

10. The teams combined for one error, a misplayed fly ball by Brad McElroy, in a game that featured 137 at-bats and 529 pitches.

Paid attendance was 5,492. The teams combined to throw 530 pitches.

kgray@unionleader.com