Brown Sharp; Claws Get 5-3 Sunday W

BOWLING GREEN, KY - Ben Brown threw 5.1 scoreless innings and struck out eight as the BlueClaws picked up a 5-3 Sunday win over Bowling Green on Sunday at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Jersey Shore (11-20) snapped a three-game losing streak to the Hot Rods (20-12), who took four of the six games in the series.

Brown (1-2), a right-hander from East Setauket, New York, set season highs in both strikeouts and innings pitched in earning his first win of the season.

Neither team scored until the sixth inning when McCarthy Tatum, who had eight hits in the last five games, singled in Johan Rojas the game's first run. The BlueClaws added to the lead on a Nicolas Torres RBI single in the eighth.

They then tacked on three more in the ninth. Casey Martin homered, his second of the season, to make it a 3-0 game. Rojas walked with the bases loaded and a wild pitch put the BlueClaws up 5-0.

Bowing Green scored three in the bottom of the ninth on a double by Tanner Murray but Jason Ruffcorn got Pedro Martinez to ground out to first base to end the game.

After Brown came out, Ethan Lindow got the next two outs. Tyler McKay threw a scoreless seventh and Jonathan Hughes threw a scoreless eighth for Jersey Shore in the win.

Rojas had two hits and two stolen bases. He is now 20-20 stealing bases this season. Carlos De La Cruz was 3-3 with a double, triple, and walk in victory.

Bowing Green starter John Doaxkis threw four scoreless innings and did not factor in the decision.

The BlueClaws head to Wilmington and after a day off on Monday, will open a six game series with the Blue Rocks on Tuesday. They return home on May 24th to take on Greenville.

-Jersey Shore BlueClaws-