The SeaWolves jumped out to an early lead and used a five run fifth inning to beat the Baysox 9-2 Friday in Bowie. With the loss, the Baysox fall to 73-65 on the season and out of playoff position after a win by Richmond.
Bowie’s pitchers walked four consecutive batters in the fifth inning, three with the bases loaded, to contribute to an inning where Erie scored five runs on two hits. The pitching staff struggled to record quick outs and keep the SeaWolves off the board as they scored nine runs, the most against the Baysox since August 5 when New Hampshire scored 11.
“We just didn’t play very well – we didn’t pitch and there were a lot of walks,” said Manager Gary Kendall. “We needed a lot of pitches to put hitters away – we threw around 160 pitches and that isn’t a good combination, especially when you don’t hit. The game got out of hand in the fifth inning and we couldn’t recover.”
The SeaWolves struck first in the top of the first inning against right-handed starting pitcher Zach Clark. With one out, William Bergolla doubled to left-center field and then scored on an RBI single to left field by Bryan Pounds to give Erie an early 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, the SeaWolves added to their lead. Jamie Johnson led off with an infield single and then went to second on a ground out by Bergolla. Brandon Douglas knocked in the second run of the game with a single to left field that made the score 2-0.
The SeaWolves broke the game open in the fifth inning when they batted around and scored five runs. They loaded the bases with a single, a double and a walk with no one out before Clark walked Douglas to force in a run. Right-handed reliever Armando Gabino then came into the game and walked the first two batters he faced to force in two more runs. Deik Scram and Bryan Holaday added to the lead with back-to-back sacrifice flies to make the score 7-0.
In the seventh inning, the Baysox got on the board against Altoona reliever Zach Samuels. With one out, third baseman Brandon Waring singled to center field and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches before designated hitter Caleb Joseph knocked him in with an RBI double to left field. Shortstop Pedro Florimon followed with a single to right field that scored Joseph and cut the lead to 7-2. Joseph’s double was his first extra-base hit in 20 games and the RBI was his first in 19 games.
The SeaWolves answered right back in the eighth inning against right-handed reliever Bobby Bundy. Holaday and John Murrian hit back-to-back singles to start the inning and with one out, Jamie Johnson knocked in Holaday with a single to right field. Murrian scored on a ground out by Borgolla to make the score 9-2.
Clark pitched four innings and allowed six runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out one batter in the loss. Clark started the game with four solid innings, but struggled with his command in the fifth inning as he allowed four earned runs and failed to record an out.
“Honestly he pitched pretty well up until the fifth inning when he kind of lost it for a couple hitters in a row,” said Pitching Coach Kennie Steenstra. “I would love to say I have a brilliant explanation for it but he just got out of sync for a couple hitters and he couldn’t find the strike zone.”
Gabino pitched two innings in relief of Clark and allowed one run on one hit while striking out three and walking two batters that led to two runs being scored. Right-handed reliever Raul Rivero pitched a perfect seventh inning for the Baysox before Bundy allowed two runs on three hits in the eighth inning. Right-handed reliever Brandon Cooney pitched the ninth inning and allowed one hit while walking one and striking out two batters.
With the exception of the seventh inning where the Baysox strung together three hits and scored two runs, Bowie’s offense again struggled to record hits and score runs. The Baysox are 1-4 in their past five games and are just 8-for-38 during that span with runners in scoring position. The team has also failed to score more than five runs in any game in the past two series.
Saturday, RHP Eddie Gamboa (2-5, 3.38) takes the mound for the Baysox as they take on the Erie SeaWolves. His opponent will be LHP Casey Crosby (8-7, 4.30).
The Baysox are home through Monday, Sep. 5 for an eight game home stand to finish the regular season. Promotions during the home stand include Kid Appreciation Day Saturday, Sep. 3 and Fan Appreciation Day Sunday, Sep. 4.
