Bees Defeat Hawks, 12-2
It was a 5-2 game until the seventh, when the Bees scored five runs on four hits, and took advantage of two Silver Hawks errors to break the game open. With reliever T.J. Hose (ND) on the mound, the two errors led to four unearned runs, and five overall. Nick Francis and Jose Bonilla each had two run doubles in the inning for Burlington.
The Bees added two more in the eighth against Bryan Woodall (ND), with pinch hitter Wilson Tucker homering to start the inning. After a couple of singles, Bonilla again doubled, bringing in a run to finish off the scoring for the Bees.
Randy Rodriguez (LP, 0-1) started for South Bend and was charged with five runs (four earned) over 5.0 innings to suffer his first defeat of the year. David Wood had an RBI single in the first and a two run double in the third to do the most damage. Nick Van Stratton and Eric Hosmer each had RBI singles in the third as well.
The Silver Hawks scored a run in each of the first two innings against Burlington starter Sam Runion (WP, 2-3), getting solo home runs from Alberto Diaz in the first and Isaias Asencio in the second. It was Diaz's team leading fifth home run, while Asencio picked up his second of the year.
Those would be the only runs South Bend would get on the day, as Runion went 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on four hits for the win. Derrick Saito (ND) pitched two scoreless innings, with James Thompson (ND) pitching the ninth to complete the win for Burlington.
The Silver Hawks have been held to six hits or fewer in five straight games, dropping the team batting average to .248. South Bend is three games under .500 for the first time since May 1st.
The series wraps up Friday night in Burlington with a 7:30 PM Eastern Time first pitch. RHP Brett Moorhouse (1-4, 3.77 ERA) will start for the Silver Hawks, while the Bees send RHP Manauris Baez (2-1, 3.21 ERA) to the mound. Pregame coverage begins at 7:10 PM Eastern Time on 1620 ESPN Radio and online at www.silverhawks.com.