Bowling Green Takes Rubber Game Over Loons, 5-0
Five-Run First Inning Proves Plenty In BG's Fifth Shutout of Season
Bowling Green, Ky. - Four Hot Rods collected two hits, and a five-run rally with two outs in the first inning provided more than enough offense for Bowling Green (12-9) in a 5-0 triumph over the Great Lakes Loons (9-9) in front of 1,467 fans at Dow Diamond Thursday night.
In winning its first road series of the season, Bowling Green also notched its second shutout of the series and fifth of the season - most in the Midwest League - with four of those coming over the last nine games.
Bowling Green scored in the opening frame for the second time in the series, sending eight men to the plate against Loons starter Trevor Oaks. Following Jace Conrad's one-out fielder's choice and Casey Gillaspie's two-out walk, Justin Williams laced a RBI double down the left-field line to bring Conrad home for a 1-0 Hot Rods lead. Left-handed batters were 0-for-21 on the season against Oaks before that two-bagger.
Grant Kay then reached on an infield single which hit the third base bag on the roll to score Gillaspie and make it 2-0 while increasing his hitting streak to seven straight games. Coty Blanchard singled home Williams on the very next pitch for a 3-0 lead, while Kay advanced to third and Blanchard took second on the corresponding throw. That set the stage for Mac James, who broke a personal 0-for-9 slump with a line drive two-run single to centerfield upping the margin to 5-0, but James was tagged out at second after the relay to end the rally.
Oaks (2-1), who came into his fourth start ranked third in the circuit in ERA (0.53) having allowed just one earned run in 17 innings on the season, was touched up for a season-high nine hits over 6.0 innings of work, though he did not surrender another run after the rocky first.
On the other side, Hot Rods starter Hyrum Formo (2-0) was never seriously threatened, blanking Great Lakes on five hits over 6.0 solid innings to win his second start in a row. Edwin Fierro and Brian Miller pitched in relief of Formo, combining for the final 3.0 innings of work and allowing just three hits.
No Great Lakes batter reached third base due to the Hot Rods turning a season-high four double plays.
James, Kay, Williams and Thomas Milone all contributed two base hits, while Conrad increased his hitting streak to 11 games with a fifth-inning single.
Bowling Green now heads to Lansing for a three-game weekend set against the Lugnuts at Cooley Law School Stadium. Friday's 6:05 p.m. CDT start features Hot Rods right-hander Henry Centeno (0-0, 4.85) opposing Lansing right-hander Starlyn Suriel (1-0, 2.08).
###
Hot Rods Baseball - It's Just #Funner