Toles Sets Steals Record in Series Finale

Bowling Green, KY - Andrew Toles broke a franchise record for stolen bases in a 7-4 loss for the Bowling Green Hot Rods (77-55, 39-25) to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (69-63, 26-37) on Monday. Toles collected three stolen bases to reach 61 steals, passing Ty Morrison's record of 58 steals from the 2010 season. Bowling Green finished its six-game homestand with a 4-2 mark and retains first place in the Eastern Division standings heading into an off day.

Toles guided the Hot Rods to an early lead in the first inning. Toles opened the frame with a double and stole third base, breaking a brief tie with Morrison for the club record. Leonardo Reginatto drove in Toles with a single that gave Bowling Green a quick 1-0 advantage.

Fort Wayne answered with a couple rallies that put the TinCaps in the lead for the rest of the contest. Maxx Tissenbaum's two-run double in the second inning brought Fort Wayne ahead at 2-1. In the third inning, Gabriel Quintana snuck a two-run home run inside the left field foul pole, increasing the TinCaps lead to 4-1. Bowling Green answered with a run in its half of third as Toles hit another double, stole third base, and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Joey Rickard.

Both sides added runs in the fifth inning as Fort Wayne kept control of the lead. Hunter Renfroe brought a run in with a double early in the top of the fifth. Renfroe and Alberth Martinez came in after a two-run single by Tissenbaum for a 7-2 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth, Rickard hit a fly ball to left-center field that Martinez caught at the wall. Although it was short of a home run, it was deep enough to score Toles, who came in from third after another stolen base.

Bowling Green's chances for a comeback stalled until the ninth inning. After failing to score in three straight innings against the TinCaps bullpen, the Hot Rods finally broke through in the last of the ninth as Tommy Coyle and Tyler Goeddel recorded back-to-back doubles off Roman Madrid to cut the lead to 7-4. Madrid finished the game with the final three outs to close the game and the series. 

Colin Rea earned a win for Fort Wayne, snapping a streak of nine straight losing decisions in his professional career dating back to last August. Reinaldo Lopez was charged with the loss, breaking a stretch of five consecutive winning decisions with the Hot Rods.

After a division-wide off day on Tuesday, Bowling Green will start a three-game series at South Bend with a 6:05 PM CDT series opener in Indiana. Hot Rods RHP Jeff Ames (9-4, 3.04) is on tap to pitch against Silver Hawks RHP Jesse Darrah (11-9 3.88). Coverage begins at 5:35 PM CDT with Hank Fuerst leading the Forever Communications Pregame Show on the Hot Rods Radio Network (1340 "The Ticket" WBGN-AM, 1340wbgn.com, and on the TuneIn website and app).

Bowling Green's final homestand of the season will begin this Saturday with game one of a three-game series against the Lake County Captains. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM CDT on Pink in the Park Night, featuring a Hot Rods jersey auction with proceeds benefitting BRASS and The Mary Kay Foundation. Saturday's game will be capped by Post-Game Fireworks presented by WBKO. For more information and to secure your tickets, call the Hot Rods Ticket Office at (270) 901-2121.

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