March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 50 F

Error-Plagued Baysox Drop Third In A Row

Right-handed starting pitcher Eddie Gamboa threw three solid innings to begin his first start of the season, but he and the rest of the Baysox team ran into some trouble later in the game at Richmond Tuesday night.

The Baysox fell to the Flying Squirrels 7-2, but only four of the runs were earned by Bowie pitchers as five errors led to three unearned runs being scored, including two in the eighth inning that put the game out of reach. The Baysox have committed 10 errors in their first five games and eight in the last three games.

After three perfect innings to open the game for Richmond starting pitcher Thomas Vessella, the Baysox finally got on the board in the top of the fourth. Leadoff batter and center fielder Xavier Avery opened the inning by taking first after being hit by a pitch and second baseman Greg Miclat joined him on the bases after drawing a walk. A successful sacrifice bunt by left fielder Jeff Fiorentino advanced the runners to second and third and a sacrifice fly by third baseman Brandon Waring scored Avery and moved Miclat to third. The inning ended when first baseman Caleb Joseph popped out.

The Flying Squirrels responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth. Charlie Culberson reached first after a throwing error by Waring and Justin Christian followed with a double that scored Culberson. Gamboa then retired the next three Richmond batters in order.

Bowie kept up the pressure in the fifth inning when right fielder Ronnie Welty belted his first home run of the season. Designated hitter Robbie Widlansky led off the inning with a single, but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double, leaving the bases clear for Welty’s home run. Vessella would get out of the inning with no more runs allowed.

A huge fifth inning by Richmond would put the Flying Squirrels ahead for the first time in the game. Johnny Monell opened the inning by drawing a walk and a single by Mike McBryde would advance him to second. Jose Flores then hit a RBI single that scored Monell and moved McBryde to second. The last batter Gamboa would face is Joel Weeks who reached on a bunt to load the bases. Gamboa was then relieved by left-handed pitcher Pedro Viola. Christian, the first batter to face Viola, hit a sacrifice fly that scored Flores and the inning would end with a Kieschnick ground out, but not before Richmond had grabbed a 4-2 lead.

After a perfect top of the sixth by Vessella, the Richmond offense added to their lead in the bottom of the inning. Joe Koshansky hit a lead off ground rule double off Viola, who was then replaced by right-handed pitcher Ryohei Tanaka. Tanaka would strike out Juan Perez, but a ground out by Monell would advance Koshansky to third with two outs. A McBryde single scored Koshansky and the inning would end when Flores, the next batter, grounded out.

The Flying Squirrels were able to pad their lead even more in the bottom of the eighth thanks to numerous errors by Baysox fielders. Right-handed reliever Brandon Cooney replaced Tanaka to start the inning and started by getting Koshansky to fly out to center field. Perez would then reach first on a throwing error by Waring, and a Monell single that pushed Perez to third would be stretched into a double by a throwing error by Welty. McBryde would then reach on a fielding error by shortstop Pedro Florimon and Perez would score while Monell moved to third. The next batter, Flores, would ground into a fielder’s choice, but Monell would score the second run of the inning while McBryde was out at second. The inning would end with Richmond up 7-2 after a pop out by Weeks.

Vessella threw six strong innings in his first career Double-A start and gave up two runs on two hits while striking out three. For the second night in a row, Baysox hitters struggled to get on base as the game wore on. Bowie did not have a hit in the first three innings of the game and got two of their four total hits in the fifth inning. Beyond the fifth inning, as the team began to fall farther behind the Flying Squirrels, only two more Baysox got on base.

Widlansky accounted for two of the Baysox four hits in the game. It was his second multi-hit game of the season. Gamboa finished the game with 4.1 innings pitched and three earned runs while striking out three. Viola earned one run in 0.2 innings pitched and Tanaka allowed two hits and struck out one in two innings. Cooney finished the game with one hit and two runs allowed over one inning pitched.

The Baysox open their first home stand at Prince George’s Stadium Thursday, April 14, at 7:05 p.m.  Friday, April 15, is Outdoorsman Night at the stadium, and Saturday is Betty White Tribute Night with postgame fireworks.

Baysox Baseball – We’ll Knock Your Sox Off. The Baysox 19th season as the class Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is underway.  They play their first game at Prince George’s Stadium Thursday, April 14, at 7:05 p.m.  Parking is free at every Baysox home game and tickets are now available at www.baysox.com.

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