Romero Gets Over .500 Thanks to Fightins Fourth

(Reading, PA) - In front of the biggest crowd of the season at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Reading Fightin Phils and Bowie Baysox played another fast one on Saturday night. JoJo Romero was sharp over seven scoreless innings, and the offense batted around in the fourth to fuel an 8-3 win. 8,057 took it in at America's Classic Ballpark, and now the Fightins (43-48) can win the series in the matinee finale on Sunday.
In his return from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, third baseman Damek Tomscha opened the scoring with his 10^th home run in the second off Baysox starter Reid Love . That set the tone for the bottom of the fourth, which started when Adam Haseley led off with a walk. Austin Listi carried his hitting streak to 16 with a single and Darick Hall followed with a single into right to load the bases with no outs.
All season long, the Fightin Phils have hit well with the bases loaded and that continued against Love. Tomscha's second hit was an RBI single, and Jan Hernandez added one of his own for a 3-0 lead. With one out, Malquin Canelo got under a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0, and Heiker Meneses' first extra-base hit was a 2-RBI double for a 6-0 advantage. With Love out, the Fightins tacked on one more run when Jiandido Tromp plated the sixth and final run with an RBI single to bat the lineup around and go up 7-0.
Romero (7-6) was locked in from first pitch, allowing just six singles over the course of his seven innings. Over 100 pitches, he threw 63 strikes and allowed just two walks while striking out four. In the eighth, Kyle Dohy made his Double-A debut and struck out a pair despite walking the bases loaded.
Reading's final run came across in the sixth when Canelo singled with two outs and stole second, quickly coming around on Meneses' second hit and subsequent first three-RBI game of the season. The Baysox didn't score until the ninth, but the Fightins had more than enough of a cushion as they took it down 8-3. On Sunday, they can go for their second series win against a Western Division team, and first since late April against the RubberDucks.
America's Classic Ballpark is proud to be a part of Pennsylvania's Americana Region. Season tickets for the 2018 season are available online at Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, and in-person at FirstEnergy Stadium. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter at @ReadingFightins and like them on Facebook via www.facebook.com/fightins.