Cermak Homers in 6-2 Hot Rods Loss to Grasshoppers

Bowling Green, Kentucky – Ryan Cermak went yard for the second consecutive game, but the Bowling Green Hot Rods (76-40, 29-22) couldn’t overcome the Greensboro Grasshoppers (71-47, 30-22) in a 6-2 loss on Friday night at Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The Hot Rods gathered the first lead with one run in the bottom of the third inning against starter Reinold Navarro. Ricardo Gonzalez logged a single, moved to second on a balk, and advanced to third on a Jhon Diaz groundout. Another Navarro balk scored Gonzalez, handing Bowling Green a 1-0 advantage.

Greensboro gained the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth against starting pitcher Dominic Fritton. Wyatt Sanford clubbed a game-tying home run to right field, making it 1-1. Edward Florentino tripled and touched home on a Jared Jones single, giving the Grasshoppers a 2-1 margin.

The visitors padded the lead with three runs in the top of the sixth inning against Mason Nichols. Josh Tate logged a two-run single, and Florentino added a sacrifice fly to right field to swell Greensboro’s advantage to 5-1.

The Grasshoppers tacked on one run in the top of the seventh frame against bullpen arm Noah Beal. Jones hit a leadoff home run to left field, making it 6-1 Greensboro.

The Hot Rods pulled one run back in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Adolfo Oviedo in the bottom of the ninth. Cermak blasted a solo homer to left field, cutting the Grasshoppers’ lead to 6-2. Oviedo retired the next two batters to round out a 6-2 final score.

Navarro (1-0) earned the win, hurling 5.0 innings of one-run ball, mixing in one hit, one walk and eight strikeouts. Fritton (0-3) was charged with the loss, allowing two runs on eight hits, walking three and fanning five over 4.2 frames.

The Hot Rods and Grasshoppers play the penultimate game of a six-game series on Saturday afternoon at 4:05 PM CT. Bowling Green will send LHP Dominic Niman (7-5, 4.07) to the mound against RHP Jacob Bimbi (5-3, 2.90).

Fans can catch all the action by watching on MiLB.tv, listening through the MiLB First Pitch App and BGHotRods.com. Fans can also secure their seats for future home Hot Rods games by calling (270) 901-2121, visiting the Bowling Green Ballpark box office during normal business hours, or going to www.bghotrods.com.

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Hot Rods Baseball