Hot Rods Prevail in Wild Game with South Bend

Bowling Green, Ky. - A wild contest between the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Class-A/Tampa Bay Rays) and South Bend Silver Hawks (Arizona Diamondbacks) saw 20 runs score on 20 hits, and the Hot Rods rallied from two different deficits to take the victory on Tuesday afternoon, 11-9. The Hot Rods scored three runs in the fifth inning to go ahead by one, and a late home run helped seal the triumph.

The fifth-inning Hot Rods rally began with Kean Wong at first base. He stole second base, and proceeded to steal third as well. Johnny Field was then hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Field swiped second base, and Darryl George grounded out to short to drive home Wong and move field to third. Granden Goetzman tied the game when he singled home Field, and Bowling Green went in front when an error on a ball hit by Oscar Hernandez to left field allowed Goetzman to score. It was 10-9 Hot Rods after five innings of play.

Bowling Green's lead was extended to two in the seventh. George came up to the plate with one out, and he proceeded to leave the yard with his first home run of the season. It sailed over the left-center field fence into the Home Run Grill, and gave the game its final margin of 11-9.

The wild nature of the ballgame started early when the Hot Rods plated three in the first. Pat Blair and Wong led off with walks, and Blair moved to third on a fly out by Field. George reached on an infield single as Blair scampered home to score, and Goetzman then singled to load the bases. Hernandez was hit by a pitch to plate Wong, and Ty Young later singled home George.

After the first, a back-and-forth battle preceded the fifth inning. South Bend would score four runs in the second, and two more in the third to lead 6-3. Their advantage was extended to 7-4 when the Hot Rods tied it with three runs in the fourth, and South Bend scored two more in the fifth. That would be the end of their scoring as Colton Reavis and Stone Speer combined to finish the game off for Bowling Green.

Three different Hot Rods finished with multi-hit days, including George and Goetzman who each had three hits. George crossed home plate a season-high four times, and he also drove in three. Despite the high total, of runs and hits for the Hot Rods, they only knocked two extra-base hits for the game, George's homer in the seventh, and Wong's double in the fourth.

Reavis (1-0) allowed two runs when he entered in the fifth, but was dominant after that. He struck out five en route to his first win of the season. Speer earned his first save of the campaign by working fairly routine innings in the eighth and ninth. Speer has now been superb in three straight outings.

Kyle Schepel (0-1) was the final South Bend hurler and took the loss. He allowed two runs in three and one-third innings of work.

The Hot Rods and Silver Hawks will return to the Bowling Green Ballpark diamond Wednesday morning for a doubleheader. First pitch will be hurled at 10:35 a.m., and gates will open at 9:30 a.m. Both games will be seven innings in length, and game two will begin approximately 30 minutes after game one concludes. Game two is a makeup of Monday night's postponed contest. Jake Faria and Jordan Harrison will take the mound for the Hot Rods.

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