Four runs in the first two innings helped Alex Wells and the Bowie Baysox earn a 5-2 win over the Akron RubberDucks in front of 3,591 at Prince George’s Stadium Saturday night.
Bowie (5-17) scored first for the first time in the four-game series in the first inning against Akron LHP Sam Hentges. Rylan Bannon (2-for-3) lined his third home run of the season down the left field line, tucking inside the foul pole to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Akron (10-12) jumped ahead with two runs in the top of the second inning, but the Baysox responded with three runs in the bottom half of the frame to re-gain the lead. Carlos Perez (3-for-3) led off with a double and quickly scored on a near-identical double to right-center field by Zach Jarrett (1-for-4), who recorded his first hit and RBI in his first Double-A at-bat. One pitch later, Brett Cumberland (1-for-4) launched his second home run of the season–and in as many nights–to left-center field, putting Bowie on top by a 4-2 score.
Bannon added another run to his stat line in the fifth inning. An errant throw from Akron shortstop Alexis Pantoja with two outs allowed the speedy second baseman to score from second base, extending the margin to three runs at 5-2.
Making his Prince George’s Stadium debut, Wells earned the win by becoming the first Baysox pitcher to go seven innings in a start in 2019. The lefty held the Ducks to two earned runs on three hits, striking out a pair of batters for his first Double-A quality start.
The Australian retired 16 of his final 17 batters, with a Jorma Rodriguez bunt single serving as the only runner to reach in the final 5 2/3 innings. Zach Pop pitched a scoreless eighth inning, while Tyler Erwin earned his third save of the season with a perfect ninth inning.
The four-game series with the RubberDucks concludes Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. Sunday’s matinee contest is also the 2019 Bark in the Park event, presented by Veterinary Neurology & Imaging of the Chesapeake.
Khloe and the Avenue DiscDogs of Southern Maryland will perform on the field pregame, while all dogs can parade around the field before the game. All dogs must be properly vaccinated and leashed in order to gain free admittance.
