Hot Rods Win 1-0 Nail-Biter over Asheville

Bowling Green, Kentucky– The Bowling Green Hot Rods (7-3) pitching staff struck out 15 Asheville Tourists (4-5) hitters while Greg Jones drove in the lone Hot Rods run in a 1-0 win on Friday night at Bowling Green Ballpark. The Hot Rods and Tourists will play the penultimate game of the series on Saturday with a 6:35 PM CT first pitch.

Both pitching staffs were stingy the entire night on Friday, with Asheville starter R.J. Freure and Bowling Green starter Joe LaSorsa holding the other’s offense scoreless in their time on the mound. The Hot Rods were hitless until the fifth when Ruben Cardenas singled to left and went to second on a wild pitch, but Freure retired the next three hitters to keep the scoreless game intact.

The Hot Rods finally scratched across a run in the sixth against Tourists reliever Tyler Brown. Grant Witherspoon earned a one-out walk and stole second. Jones followed up with a single to right, plating Witherspoon to give the Hot Rods a 1-0 lead.

Carlos Garcia, Mikey York, and Christopher Gau combined for 6.1 innings, striking out 10 while lifting the Hot Rods to the 1-0 shutout win, taking a 3-1 series lead.

LaSorsa tossed 2.2 scoreless frames while allowing two hits and two walks with five strikeouts in a no-decision. Garcia (2-0) earned the win after his 3.1 shutout innings of relief, allowing three hits with five punch outs of his own. York earned a hold with Asheville picking up one hit in his 2.0 innings while the righty had four strikeouts. Gau (1) earned his first save of the season with a strikeout.

Notes: BG is 3-0 in shutouts this year… Garcia tied his career-high of five strikeouts… It’s the fourth times he’s done so in his career… Friday was LaSorsa’s first start of his career… Gau earned the first save of his career… He hasn’t allowed a hit or a run in his first four appearances of the season… BG’s 15 strikeouts of Asheville falls one short of the team’s season-high which was set in Thursday’s game… The last time Bowling Green won a 1-0 game was on August 30, 2019 against the Lake County Captains… The Hot Rods offense was held to three hits, the lowest total of the season… Cardenas has six hits in the series… The Hot Rods bullpen is now 7-1 this season… Bowling Green is 10-7 all-time against Asheville… The Hot Rods are also 6-4 at Bowling Green Ballpark against the Tourists all-time… The Hot Rods and Tourists will play the fifth game of the series on Saturday… The Hot Rods will send RH Michael Mercado (0-1, 19.29) to the mound against Tourists LH Juan Pablo Lopez (0-1, 16.88)… Opening weekend continues… First pitch will be at 6:35 PM CT… Fans can catch all of the action through the MiLB First Pitch app, tuning into WBGN 94.5 FM and 1340 AM, or visiting https://www.milb.com/bowling-green/fans/audio-listen-live.

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